Non-Exempt Temporary or Casual

Anticipated Start Date: May 27, 2025
Expected End Date :August 15, 2025
Supervisor of position: Elena West
Work Location: Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve, East Bethel, MN
Salary: $18.00/hour

We are seeking a research technician to assist in field efforts for a University of Minnesota research project on red-headed woodpecker nesting and roosting ecology, movement behavior, and habitat use. This is a long-term project that has focused on nest success, habitat use, annual survival, and migration ecology of red-headed woodpeckers at the Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve, which is home to one of the largest remaining breeding populations of this species in the state. Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve is a University of Minnesota biological field station and is situated about 40 miles north of the Twin Cities. Technicians may also have the opportunity to participate in on-going professional development opportunities at Cedar Creek, including weekly lunch seminars with other interns, faculty and graduate students, and an end-of-summer symposium where the technicians can share some research results from their summer field work.

Primary duties include:

Field Work (70%)

• Locates and monitors red-headed woodpecker nests and roosts
• Handles woodpeckers: capture, banding, collecting tissue samples, measurements and marking with radio-transmitters
• Tracks woodpeckers using VHF radio telemetry equipment during the day and early morning to collect home range data and identify roost locations
• Vegetation sampling to assess habitat metrics important for woodpeckers

Data Entry and Management (10%)

• Data management: organized and consistent note-taking of observations in the field
• Daily entries of data collected in the field into electronic spreadsheets and databases
• Quality assurance and quality control checks on all field data entries, ensuring accuracy, completeness, and adherence to established protocols

Other Duties (20%)

• Assists with nest cavity camera monitoring and maintenance
• Works with citizen-science volunteers at Cedar Creek
• Assists with the programming and deployment of ARUs, as part of a separate study

Required

• High school graduation or the equivalent with some science courses and laboratory experience should provide the necessary background for work of this class.
• Equivalent combination of relevant academic and work experience may be substituted
• A valid driver's license
• Ability to climb ~30' ladders for nest checks and carry equipment across uneven terrain

Preferred

• Prior experience with field research
• Experience with radio telemetry and/or capturing and banding avian species (although preferred these skills are not mandatory and training will be provided)
• An exceptional work ethic, the ability to work alone or collaboratively with a team, willingness to adjust to a flexible schedule and a great attention to detail
  

Research in the West Lab focuses on the ecology, conservation, and management of wildlife, with an emphasis on North American birds. Current projects address how human activities shape the behavior, movement, and population dynamics of (largely) terrestrial animals and emphasize the development of innovative methods to study species of conservation concern. We use field data, bioacoustic monitoring, spatial analyses, community science data, and quantitative approaches to provide applied outcomes for pressing conservation issues.

Pay Range: $18.00 per hour

Retirement plan options are available for Civil Service, Faculty, Labor-Represented, Professional & Administrative, and Temp Casual classifications. Learn more about retirement plans.

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