Field Technician

Barrow AK

Position Objectives: This position is for 1 technician to help conduct an eider migration count at Pt. Barrow, Alaska. Most of the king and common eiders nesting in northern Alaska and western Canada migrate past Point Barrow, Alaska twice annually. At Point Barrow, Alaska migrating eiders pass very close to shore, allowing for migration counts. Technicians will count eiders either from a vantage point on the shore-fast ice, or from the shore, depending on conditions. They will access either study location using a snowmachine.

Principle Responsibilities: Duties include conducting an eider migration count from approximately 20 April, 2015 to early June. Observers will count eiders in a pattern of two hours on, two hours off throughout the day. The length and timing of shifts will be influenced by weather and ice safety issues. For each flock sighted observers will record time, direction of travel, species composition, number sighted, and ratio of males to females for each species. Additionally, observers will photograph flocks using a high-resolution camera with telephoto lens. For each counting period, we will collect data on weather conditions (temperature, wind speed, wind direction, cloud cover, visibility). The field leader will be responsible for coordinating daily activities, updating the PIs regularly, and preparing a short report on the season’s activities.

Qualification Requirements

Knowledge, Skills,

and Abilities: Applicants must have excellent bird identification skills, education and training, advanced knowledge and education in principles of wildlife ecology and avian research, be familiar with using a compass, GPS, binoculars, snowmachine, and Microsoft Excel, and able to consistently exercise discretion and judgment, and make decisions while working independently. Experience, education and/or training working in the Arctic is preferred, as is experience working on migration counts. Applicants must be enthusiastic, in excellent physical condition and willing to work for long hours in very cold difficult field conditions. Applicants must be comfortable working in bear country. The field site is in the vicinity of subsistence hunting activities (whales and birds) and applicants must be comfortable with these activities and respect the hunters. The ability to work independently and follow all safety protocols is vital.

Required Qualifications: A Bachelor’s degree in wildlife ecology or a related field is required. The crew leader must have previous experience as a crew leader. Both positions require at last one season experience working as a field technician. This project is an area frequented by polar bears, may be on the ice, and is in an area used by subsistence hunters so consistent attention to safety is mandatory as is non-interference with any subsistence activities. Non-U.S. citizen applicants must have (or obtain) a social security number.

Apply online: http://www.wcs.org/about-us/careers.aspx