Turtle Radio Telemetry Internship

Station
:
Toucan Ridge Ecology and Education Society (T.R.E.E.S)
Location
: 27.5 miles Hummingbird Highway, Stann Creek
Country
:
Belize, Central America
Open Period
:
Open on a rolling basis.
Description
:
Internships take place at the T.R.E.E.S Hosting Center, a research and education facility in the Maya Mountains of Belize. The center is operated by the Toucan Ridge Ecology and Education Society (T.R.E.E.S), a small grassroots nonprofit dedicated to conserving Belize’s natural and cultural heritage through education, conservation, and research. One way we fulfill this mission is by hosting interns. Through training international and local Belizean students in environmental and wildlife management, field research techniques, and data collection protocols, we contribute to a greater understanding of Belize’s biodiversity.

At T.R.E.E.S, the only resident turtle species is the White-lipped Mud Turtle (Kinosternon leucostomum). This internship focuses on using radio telemetry to study the movements and habitat preferences of individual Mud Turtles. We have equipped nine turtles with transmitters, and the intern will track them daily. Recently, T.R.E.E.S documented a Furrowed Wood Turtle (Rhinoclemmys areolata) on the property, the first record of this species in the area.

Since this species is typically found in tropical savanna habitats, its presence here is unusual. We fitted the Wood Turtle with a transmitter and incorporated it into our turtle movement and home range study. Additionally, the internship includes monitoring water levels to assess correlations between flooding and turtle movement patterns.

• Track tagged turtles across aquatic (streams and wetlands) and terrestrial (dense tropical jungle) environments daily.
• Collect and log GPS coordinates, environmental conditions, and turtle behavior data during tracking sessions.
• Set up a water monitoring station on the property’s creek.
• Record water levels in streams to analyze correlations with turtle movement.
• Document habitat characteristics at turtle locations, including water and substrate depth.
• Assist in mapping turtle home ranges and movement patterns using GIS software or other visualization tools if intern has ability to use ArcGIS software.
• Work both independently and alongside researchers or fellow interns to efficiently conduct field studies.
• Contribute to project reports by summarizing findings, analyzing trends, and discussing potential ecological implications. Depending on involvement in project, may have opportunity to collaborate on future publications.
• Interns will assist with creating captions for social media posts to engage and update followers on what has been going on at the field station and various projects that are being done.
• Engage with local communities or visitors to share insights about turtle conservation and research.

Interns can choose to do a minimum of 2 weeks to a maximum of 6 weeks during this internship program, though 4 weeks is the recommended duration.

The internship has a fee of $289 USD/week which includes room and board (meals included Monday-Friday), full access to lab equipment, and training by professional on-site biologists. Food is not provided as part of the internship program. Interns can also purchase their own basic food supplies from nearby vendors that can be prepared simply on-site without access to a full kitchen OR interns can order meals from the on-site Toucan Café restaurant that is open daily and caters to all dietary restrictions Lodging at the research center signifies a shared dormitory-style rustic cabins with other same sex interns with full access to other facilities such as showers, restrooms, and kitchen.

The nature of this program allows interns to carry out a majority of the work independently after the training period is done.

We are hoping to expand our internship program beyond North America. Citizens from Latin America and the Caribbean will be charged at a discounted rate of 50%. Belizeans will get another discount. For more information, kindly email Jamie Martinez at jmartinez.

Interns are required to work for 35 hours/week…