mercredi 6 février 2008

Field Assistant: Male/Infant Relationships in Sulawesi Macaques, Indonesia

Hiring Organization:Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology

Position Description:
We are looking for two consecutive field assistants on a PhD project investigating male-infant relationships in Sulawesi crested black macaques (Macaca nigra). This study will be conducted on a wild macaque population in the Tangkoko-Bataungus Nature Reserve (Sulawesi, Indonesia), within the Macaca Nigra project
(http://www.macaca-nigra.org>http://www.macaca-nigra.org).
The work of the field assistant will include a training period of 4 weeks, and behavioural data collection with a handheld computer over a period of 8 months. Position also involves data entry
and faecal sample collection for paternity analyses. The project is supervised by Dr. Anja Widdig, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig (Germany) and Dr. Antje Engelhardt, German Primate Centre, Göttingen (Germany).

Qualifications/Experience:
Previous field experience is welcome, but not required. Priority will be given to applicants with successful experience collecting behavioural data from individually recognized mammals. Experience of working in tropical conditions demanding good physical exercise is helpful as monkeys are followed from dawn to dusk (about 13h a day) in a tropical forest. The language in our team is English. The successful candidate must have medical insurance and proper vaccination.
In general, applicants should:
- be physically fit and mentally strong with very good social skills
- be able to work independently within our team
- feel comfortable living under basic conditions and being far away from family/friends
- be willing to adapt to a foreign culture
- be emotionally mature, friendly, energetic and very patient
- be able to maintain a positive attitude towards hard and tiring work.

Salary/funding:
There is NO salary and support available for airfare (which is about 700-800 €), health insurance and vaccinations (no anti-malarial prophylaxis needed). Housing and food cost approximately 120 €/month. If funding is raised, reimbursement of the cost regarding housing and food will be given at the end of the research period.

Term of Appointment:
A 9 month commitment is required, longer terms are encouraged. Two start dates are available: May 2008 and January 2009.

Application Deadline:
March 1st 2008 for the first research period. For the second, Applications will be accepted until position is filled.

Comments:
To apply, email a CV, a letter describing your interests in the study of animal behaviour and contact information for two referees. Please contact me via e-mail with any questions.

Contact Information:
Daphne Kerhoas
Deutscher Platz 6
Leipzig 04103
Germany
Telephone Number:
+49 341 3550 227

Website: http://www.macaca-nigra.org
E-mail Address: daphne.kerhoas@eva.mpg.de