Research Internship

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.

Internship Requirements

Applicants must be 18 years or older. Applicants should be actively pursuing a college degree or be a recent graduate in biology, marine science, marine biology, marine and estuarine ecology, oceanography or a related field. Previous research experience is preferred. Applicants must be able and willing to fulfill all of the duties described in this internship position.

Internship positions are 40 hours per week (generally Mon-Fri/8 am-4 pm). As needs arrive, responding to stranded dolphins and sea turtles, for instance, interns may need to shift their schedules to assist our Stranding Department in these efforts. Internship start and end dates for this Fall are flexible, but preferred early September. We do require a minimum of a 12-week commitment for this internship position. 

Additional Information

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