We are hiring for summer 2024!
Full-time seasonal field assistant positions begin around June 1, 2024 and continue for 10 to 16 weeks (depending on the position). Our lab studies the links between insects, landscapes, and their conservation in support of healthy ecosystems and human well being. Specific projects are listed below, though assistants may work across multiple projects. All positions are based in Madison, WI, with frequent travel around southern and central Wisconsin. No experience necessary, just enthusiasm for insect conservation, ecology, and/or sustainable agriculture.
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, starting Thursday, February 15, 2024. To apply, visit this link: https://forms.gle/kkH8ToT9GZUbNBti7
If you have questions about the application, please contact Jade Kochanski (jkochanski@wisc.edu) and include “Gratton lab application” in the subject line. If you have questions about specific research projects, please contact the project lead via the email provided below.
Position Descriptions:
Position: Student field assistant (multiple available)
- Pay rate: $15 / hour
- Start date/duration: Full-time seasonal position for ~10-12 weeks between May and August
Position: Non-student field technician (multiple available)
- Pay rate: $16+ / hour
- Start date/duration: Full-time seasonal position for ~10-16 weeks between May and August
Job responsibilities:
- Handle & identify plants and insects in the field
- Collect, record, & process data
- Maintain field equipment
- Be willing to work in challenging conditions (high temperatures, buggy, steep slopes, tall vegetation, heavy pollen, etc.)
- Work independently & collaborate with a team
- Drive to & from field sites (<50 miles of Madison) using a University vehicle
- Some projects may require long hours or weekend work
Requirements:
- Valid US driver’s license and ability to obtain driver authorization from UW Risk Management (https://businessservices.wisc.edu/managing-risk/driver-authorization-and-insurance/driver-authorization/#become – see “Requirement Criteria”)
- Attention to detail and ability to stay focused on tedious or repetitive tasks
- Coursework or interest in ecology, biology, entomology, or related fields
- Ability to work independently and with others
- Experience with or willingness to learn insect handling, including bees, and processing techniques
- Enjoy being outside, comfortable working in hot/humid conditions
- Please note: we do not provide housing but are happy to give recommendations
Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals. Our lab aims to make science and ecology more inclusive of people of all identities, and we strongly encourage people of color, and people of all genders, sexual orientations, and cultural backgrounds to apply. See our full equity and inclusion statement on our website: http://gratton.entomology.wisc.edu/equity-inclusion-statement/
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, starting Thursday, February 15, 2024. To apply, visit this link: https://forms.gle/kkH8ToT9GZUbNBti7
If you have questions about the application, please contact Jade Kochanski (jkochanski@wisc.edu) and include “Gratton lab application” in the subject line. If you have questions about specific research projects, please contact the project lead via the email provided below.
Project Descriptions
Honey bee pollen in agroecosystems
Project Lead: Hannah Gaines Day (hgaines@wisc.edu)
The goal of this project is to understand how honey bees in three pollinator-dependent systems (apple, cranberry, and pumpkin) experience the landscape. To do this, we will collect pollen from honey bee hives set within each crop and then analyze the samples for pollen diversity, pesticide contamination, and protein and lipid content. We will also take measurements related to hive health. Experience with honey bees preferred but not required. Protective equipment will be provided.
WiBee 2.0
Project Lead: Hannah Gaines Day (hgaines@wisc.edu) and Sumikshya K.C. (sumikshya.kc@wisc.edu)
On some farms, wild bees alone are able to provide full pollination to crops without the use of managed honey bees. Whether this is the case depends on the location of the farm in the landscape. We developed a smartphone app called WiBee: The Wisconsin Wild Bee App to help farmers assess the level of pollinator activity on their farm. The project aims to study the relationship between bee visitation rate and crop pollination in apple, cranberry and squash. In this project, technicians will learn techniques in pollination biology to determine how pollinator activity relates to fruit set and yield in order to turn WiBee into a decision support tool for farmers. This research will be conducted in central and southern Wisconsin on apple, cranberry, and pumpkin farms.
Impact of grazing management on pollinators and decomposers
Project Lead: Olivia Rooney (orooney@wisc.edu)
This project aims to examine how grazing intensity of cattle impacts pollinator and dung beetle abundance, community composition, and dynamics. We will visit research farm stations to conduct surveys and collect samples. Technicians will work in the field to identify insects as well as work in the lab to analyze samples. Technicians should be comfortable working in a field with large domestic animals.
Long-term bumble bee monitoring
Project Lead: Jeremy Hemberger (hemberger@wisc.edu)
This project will establish a long-term bumble bee monitoring program in the upper Midwest. A total of 4 field technicians will travel across Wisconsin, Southern Minnesota, Eastern Iowa, and Northern Illinois conducting standardized bumble bee surveys to track occupancy, abundance, and population health. Bumble bee or bee surveillance experience is required for two positions who will lead teams. All field technicians will gain experience in insect population monitoring and contribute to the tracking and recovery efforts of the Rusty Patched bumble bee. This position will require frequent overnight travel for field work.
Bumble bee habitat management
Project Lead: Kristine Schoenecker and Claudio Gratton (cgratton@wisc.edu)
Exploring the effects of controlled burns on bumble bee communities. We will visit natural areas across southern Wisconsin to survey bumble bee abundance and the availability of nesting and floral resources in burned and unburned oak savannas. Field technicians will gain experience handling insects, conducting transect surveys, and identifying bumble bees and flowering plants to species. Earlier start date in May is preferred.
Bumble bee habitat restoration and management
Project Lead: Jade Kochanski (jkochanski@wisc.edu)
This project has two primary objectives: 1) Evaluate the efficacy of prairie restoration as a tool for conserving bumble bees and 2) Measure the effects of controlled burns on bumble bees in restored prairies. We will survey bumble bees and plants in restored prairie. Technicians will gain experience with a range of non-lethal methods to measure bumble bee population dynamics and genetics, nesting and forage habitat quality. Potential to continue lab work and independent research during the academic year. Three positions are available for this project, one of which an earlier start date in April/May is preferred.
This article was posted in Lab News, Research Opportunities, Undergraduates.