field assistants - South Africa

Volunteer needed as field assistants for the project:

Socio-Ecology of small Mammals in the Succulent Karoo of South Africa



July/August to Ovtober/November 2007

>From November 2007 onwards

Project: We study the reasons of group living, paternal care, communal
nesting and social flexibility in the striped mouse. As this species is
diurnal and the habitat is open, direct behavioral observations in the
field are possible.

What kind of people are needed? Biology/zoology/veterinary students with
a BSC/ Vordiplom or equivalent are preferred as candidates. Applicants
must have an interest in working in the field and with animals. Whereas
the research is mainly non-invasive, this is no job for extreme animal
right persons (we take tissue and blood samples). Hard working
conditions will await applicants, as the study species gets up with
sunrise (between 5 and 6 o` clock), and stops its activity with dusk (19
o` clock). Work during nights might also be necessary. Work in the field
will be done for 5-6 days a week. Applicants must be able to manage
extreme temperatures (below 0 at night, sometimes over 40°C during
days). Applicants must both be prepared to live for long periods in the
loneliness of the field and to be part of a small group.

Work of field assistants: Trapping and marking of mice and rats; radio-
tracking to determine home ranges and nest sites; direct behavioral
observations in the field; experiments and observations with captive
specimen under natural weather conditions; maintenance and cleaning of
the research station.

Confirmation letter: Students get a letter of confirmation about their
work and can prepare a report of their own small project to get credit
points from their university for the masters studies.

Costs: Students have to arrange their transport to the field site
themselves. Per month, an amount of Rand 500 (around 70 Euro) must be
paid for accommodation at the research station. Students must buy their
own food etc in Springbok (costs of about R 1500 or 200 Euro/month).
Including extras, you should expect to pay about 300 Euros per month.
Students get an invitation letter which they can use to apply for
funding in their home country (eg. DAAD in Germany, SANW in
Switzerland).

Place: The field site is in the Goegap Nature Reserve near Springbok in
the North-West of South Africa. The vegetation consists of Succulent
Karoo, which has been recognized as one of 25 hotspots of biodiversity.
It is a desert to semi-desert with rain mainly in winter (June to
September).

When and how long: Currently we are looking for a volunteer for the
period July/August to October/ November 2007, the breeding season. The
next open positions will be December 2007 and January 2008.

How to apply? Send a short motivation letter stating why and for which
period you are interested and your CV via email to
carsten.schradin@zool.uzh.ch.



More information under www.stripedmouse.com

Contact via e-mail: carsten.schradin@zool.uzh.ch



Dr. Carsten Schradin
Research Assistant, Zoological Institute, Department of Animal Behavior,
University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland.
Tel: +41 - (0)44 635 5486

Honorary Researcher at the School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences,
University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa.

Dr. Carsten Schradin
Research Associate, Zoological Institute, Department of Animal Behavior,
University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland.
Tel; +41 - (0)44 635 5486
Fax: +41 - (0)44 635 5490

(Tel. secretary: +41 - (0)44 635 5271)

Honorary Researcher at the School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences,
University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa.

Succulent Karoo Research Station, Goegap Nature Reserve, Private Bag X1,
8240 Springbok, South Africa.

visit http://www.stripedmouse.com

The university of Zurich decided to change the email addresses to "uzh"
instead of "unizh" at the end. "unizh" remains valid until 2008.

Carsten Schradin <carsten.schradin@zool.uzh.ch>