Red-eyed treefrog tadpole and giant water bug (above); metamorph below

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SUMMARY: Internships are for 3 months of field research at the Gamboa Field Station of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, in Panama with Professor Karen Warkentin of Boston University and Professor James Vonesh of Virginia Commonwealth University. They include a monthly stipend, funds for travel to the field site, and shared housing in Gamboa. We will hire 2-3 summer interns (~June-August, exact dates negotiable) and may also hire interns for later in the year (~August/September-October/November), pending funding. The research entails laboratory work in Gamboa and field work at local ponds with frog eggs, tadpoles, and metamorphs, and their natural enemies. The Warkentin and Vonesh lab team in Gamboa for the 2008 field season will include several graduate students and postdoctoral fellows as well as interns. Interns will be trained in animal behavior, evolutionary and population ecology, and tropical herpetology, and mentored on career development. The Smithsonian offers a diverse and intellectually rich international scientific community in a tropical rainforest environment.

BACKGROUND: Members of the Warkentin laboratory study predator-prey interactions and plastic anti-predator defenses in red-eyed treefrogs (and some other frogs). Red-eyed treefrogs hatch early to escape from egg-eating snakes and wasps, metamorphose early in response to predaceous giant water bugs, and delay metamorphosis in response to semi-aquatic spiders that eat froglets. Field research in 2008-2010 will address how the consequences of plastic 'choices' at different life stages accumulate over the life cycle, and the relative importance of plastic responses to predators vs. direct predation mortality for population processes under different ecological conditions.

TRAINING: The interns will gain practical research experience, including participating in large collaborative experiments and conducting individual observations and/or experimental research. They will learn a substantial amount about the behavior, ecology, and natural history of leaf-breeding treefrogs and their natural enemies. They will also gain experience with appropriate methods for collecting and handling all of the animals to be used in the experiments, and with analytical methods and scientific computer software. Daily interactions with the Warkentin/Vonesh team will build a strong theoretical framework for the research, including the fundamentals of experimental design. The Gamboa Frog Seminar series, and well as seminars at STRI in Panama City will add breadth to their understanding of behavior, ecology and evolution and, more generally, tropical biology. This background, combined with the opportunity to make personal natural history observations and to discuss ideas with members of the Warkentin lab, should position the interns well to develop an individual research project after the internship.

ELIGIBILITY: Interns must be either US citizens or residents, or citizens of a Latin American country. US citizens/residents must be undergraduate students for most of our internship opportunities. Latin Americans may be undergraduate students or recent graduates. Sometimes we also have opportunities for recent US graduates (possibly in fall – check with Prof. Warkentin).

Details: Living/working in Gamboa (download pdf)

Some intern questions & answers (download pdf)

Technical summary of project, 2008-2010 (download pdf)

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Contact Professor Karen Warkentin: kwarken@bu.edu, 617-358-2385
Department of Biology, Boston University, 5 Cummington St., Boston MA 02215, USA

For full consideration for summer internships, all application materials must be received by February 10, 2008. We may consider later applications for summer or fall internships pending additional funding.

To apply, send these materials to Prof. Warkentin

(1) Application Form (download .doc application form for US citizens/residents or for Latin Americans)

(2) Personal Statement. Discuss why you want this internship and how it relates to your career goals and academic or professional development (maximum 2 pages).

(3) Statement of experience and skills. Relevant skills and experience include languages (English, Spanish), laboratory and field research, computers, photography, canoeing, experience with animals and in natural environments, travel and cross-cultural experiences, interpersonal skills, teamwork, etc. This should include a CV or resume, and you may also add a narrative statement to highlight or describe in more detail your skills/experiences, or to tell us things relevant to your application that are not evident from a CV (e.g. You have no research experience with animals but you used to collect spiders as a child.)

Email your materials to Prof. Warkentin as .doc or .pdf files

(4) Academic transcript (For US institutions, arrange to have transcript mailed directly to Prof. Warkentin. Transcript can be in Spanish from Latin American schools.)

(5) Two letters of recommendation. (Letters should address potential for a career in science, suitability for tropical rainforest field research, and interpersonal skills and character. Recommendations can be emailed to Prof. Warkentin. Latin American recommenders can send letters in English or Spanish.)

Interns will be selected based on merit, potential for the experience to benefit the intern, and potential for the intern to benefit the project. We will consider academic training and skills relevant to research as well as personal suitability for working under field conditions and living in shared accomodations in Gamboa. We strive to create a diverse, congenial, and productive team each field season.

Informal inquiries prior to submission of applications are welcome. Latin American students should also apply directly for STRI internships, under Prof. Warkentin's sponsorship. Please contact her well in advance of the deadline to coordinate this and have her review your application materials (at least by Jan. 30 for STRI Feb. 15 deadline, but earlier is better).

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