Internship Program

The MLML Vertebrate Ecology Lab does not have a formal internship program, but provides volunteer opportunities for a few prospective students or other interested persons who are willing to relocate to the Monterey Bay area. We ask interns to commit to a minimum internship period of two months, with a minimum weekly time commitment of 18-20 hours. Typically there is enough to do to keep interns busy full-time. Internship positions are generally available during all times of the year. We usually have opportunities for at most two persons at a time.

MLML provides no financial support or housing for interns, but we can often help them find local housing and employment (it should be noted that housing in the area tends to be rather expensive). Due to the field-oriented nature of internship work, and the scarcity of housing in the town of Moss Landing, a personal car is a necessity (cars cannot be provided by MLML).

Interns participate in research projects (generally conducted by Vertebrate Ecology Lab graduate students or Dr. Jim Harvey) and assist in the lab’s marine mammal and sea turtle stranding program. Field work is usually supplemented with in-lab activities such as entering data or references into computers, organizing materials in the lab, and gathering references from the library.

The types of projects available for internship participation vary, depending upon the time of year and the research being conducted by lab members. A review of the thesis projects of current graduate students will provide an idea of some of the studies in which interns might become involved. Projects that have recently afforded opportunities for intern participation have included:

twice-monthly marine bird and mammal censuses in Monterey Bay to determine the distribution and abundance of the animals and the physical and biological features that affect them
radio-tagging and tracking harbor seals or seabirds
observations of shorebird feeding and breeding ecology
boat-based and shore-based surveys of pinniped foraging and fisheries interactions
sampling fishes for marine mammal feeding studies
collection and analysis of pinniped food habits for determination of types, numbers, and sizes of prey species
weekly or monthly beach surveys for dead marine birds and mammals, used to help assess natural and anthropogenic changes in local populations
post-mortem examinations of dead stranded marine mammals and sea turtles

Persons interested in interning with the MLML Vertebrate Ecology Lab may call, visit, or write to Dr. Harvey at the address below. To assist his selection process, please send him a letter describing your interests, copies of your grades, a résumé, and any other information that will assist him in selecting interns. Dr. Harvey tries to make decisions regarding summer interns by February of each year.

Maintained by: Brian Hoover
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Comments: webmaster@mlml.calstate.edu
Last revision: July 10, 2007
URL, this page: http://www.mlml.calstate.edu/groups/bird_mam/internprg.htm