Research Internship

Application Deadline: December 1st

Job Description

IMMS’ Research Internship Program is designed to provide exceptional research and learning experiences in a real-world setting to early career scientists in the fields of marine biology and ecology, marine mammal population ecology and behavior, veterinary sciences and conservation. In this position, interns will primarily assist the institute’s Bottlenose Dolphin Photo-ID Program in collecting and processing photographs of bottlenose dolphins in the Mississippi Sound. Interns will also gain diverse experience working in other program areas including marine mammal and sea turtle stranding response, sea turtle surveys, aquaria maintenance and animal care, and marine education and conservation.

As part of a research team, primary duties include:

• Sort and process photographs of bottlenose dolphins
• Conduct boat-based bottlenose dolphin photo-ID surveys up to 7 days per month in estuarine and nearshore marine Gulf Coast waters. Dolphin surveys generally take around 8 hours and may occur in challenging weather and coastal conditions.
• Photograph dolphins and collect survey data during boat-based field surveys
• Match dolphin photographs to our catalog of known individuals using finFindR
• Enter collected bottlenose dolphin and environmental data in FinBase/Microsoft Access
• Assist in diverse research efforts related to bottlenose dolphins, sea turtles, and estuarine and near-shore marine ecology
• When needs arise, assist other program areas including stranding response, sea turtle surveys, animal care and marine education.

Additional Information

Research internships are unpaid positions. IMMS provides weekly reimbursement for groceries. Interns are responsible for their own housing and transportation.