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REP Project

May 2, 2017

Undergraduate research experience placement in tropical ecology in the School of Biological Sciences at Bangor University

Paid summer research placement opportunity

A funded opportunity is available for an undergraduate student (subject to eligibility, see below) to be part of Bangor University research project with Dr Alison Cameron during the summer of 2017. The work will start on the 26th June and run through to the start of September (8 to 10 weeks of flexible work), and will be supported by a student stipend of £200 per week from the Envision NERC scheme. This is an exciting opportunity to gain experience in ecology, and a great way to develop your CV while earning some money.

Slash and burn agriculture is famous for driving tropical deforestation. It is known to have negative effects on biodiversity, though the impacts on biodiversity have rarely been quantified. This project aims to quantify how invertebrate community diversity and composition change as cycles of slash and burn progress. Samples of invertebrates were collected in Madagascar from closed canopy rainforest, tree fallows, shrub fallows, and degraded agricultural land (fallows are areas of land resting between agricultural cycles). Soil invertebrates were extracted in the field from soil cores using Berlese funnels, leaf litter invertebrates were extracted using Winkler sacks, and pitfall traps were used to sample surface macro-invertebrates.

 

During this internship, depending on your interests, you will be trained in the following: further processing of these invertebrate samples in the laboratory, identifying invertebrates to family level under the microscope, data entry, data management, and data analysis. The student will be expected to write a report on their work during the allocated time. Please note that the project does not include any field work.

To apply send a short (less than one A4 page) letter of motivation and your CV to Dr Alison Cameron (a.cameron@bangor.ac.uk) by the 31st May. If you need further details, or to discuss the opportunity, please drop me a line by email or phone me on 01248 382326.

Dr Alison Cameron

School of Biological Sciences, Bangor University

 

Please note the following eligibility criteria. Applicants should:

  • be studying for an undergraduate degree in a quantitative discipline outside of NERC’s scientific remit (e.g. mathematics, statistics, computing, engineering, physics)
  • be applying for a placement in a different department to their undergraduate degree,
  • be undertaking their first undergraduate degree studies (or integrated Masters),
  • be expected to obtain a first or upper second class UK honours degree,
  • be eligible for subsequent NERC PhD funding (i.e. UK, EU or right to remain in the UK.