Herpetofauna Technician Internship

Location:

Toucan Ridge Ecology and Education Society
Open Period:
June 15th - November 30th, 2026
Duration:
Sessions may be 2 to 5 weeks, with 4 weeks recommended
Hours per Week: 35 – 40
Cost: $289

USD/Week

The Toucan Ridge Ecology and Education Society, located in the Maya Mountains of Belize, currently has apprenticeship spots open for our Tropical Herpetofauna Technician Internship Program. Internships are held at the T.R.E.E.S Hosting Center, a research and education center 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 not-for-profit organization whose mandate is to conserve Belize’s natural and cultural heritage through education, conservation, and research.

One way in which we meet our mandate is through hosting interns. By training international and local Belizean students in environmental and wildlife management, field research techniques and data collection protocols, knowledge on the biodiversity of Belizean fauna and flora will be gained. This knowledge will then be compiled into peer-reviewed publications, Belizean government reports and regulations, field guides, and other publications that will increase the global visibility of Belizean fauna and flora and aid in their management and ultimately their conservation.

The goal of this internship is to give the student various experiences in tropical herpetofauna studies that will aid the student in developing their skills for a variety of future education and employment opportunities. The main component of the project will be to work with Ecorana tutors and T.R.E.E.S staff in establishing long-term herpetofauna monitoring projects (habitat characterization, observational surveys, and mark-recapture specifically for frogs and turtles).

These baseline data will contribute to future ecological studies on frog and turtle populations present on the T.R.E.E.S property and elsewhere in the adjacent protected areas in the Maya Mountains.

This training opportunity focuses primarily on herpetofauna (reptile and amphibian) census techniques, including acoustic and visual encounter surveys, turtle radio‑telemetry, and amphibian habitat creation as well as other research projects. In the turtle radio telemetry project, interns will be trained in the use of telemetry equipment. They will track the movements of tagged turtles in both aquatic (streams and wetlands) and terrestrial (jungle areas) environments, with a focus on responses to sudden flooding conditions.

• Learn tropical herps by sight and sound in the Maya Mountains.
• Learn and perform a variety of herp surveys that will be most adequate to answer project questions, including habitat characterization, visual‑acoustic encounter surveys along transect lines and as time‑constrained search, capture‑mark‑recapture, etc.
• Handling of reptiles and amphibians caught and field data collection of size, sex, breeding status, species I.D.; other sampling techniques including swabbing for fungal infection, and various tagging methods for mark‑recapture.
• Lead a White‑lipped Mud Turtle movement, habitat use, and response to flooding study using radio‑telemetry.
• Monitor created habitat for breeding amphibians and conduct population assessments of hatchling mud turtles using funnel traps; maintain created habitat through invasive plant pulling, monitoring of water levels, creative solutions for modified habitat improvement, etc.
• Maintain a captive breeding and head starting Blue‑spotted Treefrog population under biosecurity protocols.
• Work with T.R.E.E.S researchers, international collaborators, and other interns on the development of protocol design and write protocols for continuing field work and data collection.
• Implement protocols in the field using the help of T.R.E.E.S staff and Ecorana tutors to find the best places to set‑up long‑term monitoring locations.
• Be trained in the use of GPS to navigate to and mark survey locations.
• Possibility of mapping frog/turtle habitat using ArcGIS if intern has ability to use ArcGIS software.
• Share knowledge with locals and with other fields.
• Complete a short…