(2 positions) Technician Positions to Investigate 6 Species of Rail Occupancy and Habitat on the Texas Coast

Position Overview: As part of a Texas Parks & Wildlife Department funded project, the technician will assist a PhD student (Tabitha Olsen) in investigating questions regarding patterns of rail species occupancy associated with habitat associations and land management practices. This project will involve considerable fieldwork, including dawn/dusk surveys for rails at multiple Wildlife Management Areas and State Parks along the Texas coast, as well as vegetation sampling in the latter half of the season. The technician will need to be prepared for both team and independent work.

Positions Hiring: 1 lead field technician, 1 field technician

Position Starting Date: 01 March 2024

Position Ending Date: 31 July 2024

Pay: $17/hr (40hr work weeks)

Housing: Field Housing and camping sites provided

Specific Essential Job Functions:

Responsibilities include:

·       Call-playback surveys for 6 species of Rail (Black, Yellow, Sora, Virginia, King, and Clapper Rail)

·       Deployment of trail cameras

·       Deployment of Autonomous Recording Units

·       Assisting with thermal UAV surveys (flying thermal UAV surveys for lead survey technician position)

·       Vegetation sampling (collecting biomass, identifying 5-10 genus/species of relevant plants)

·       Entering data into spreadsheets to assist with summary reports

·       Lead technician must coordinate with PhD student on daily activities, progress, and other aspects of the season

Job Qualifications:

·       All candidates must possess the minimum of a bachelor’s degree in an appropriate discipline and have had education or research experience closely related to the primary mission of the project.

·       Must be willing to travel along coast line to access sites

·       Must be able to work long hours in a variety of spring/summer field conditions (e.g., swarms of mosquitos)

·       Applicant must be capable to walk several miles in salt marsh in a given day while carrying a backpack over uneven terrain

·       Applicants must have a valid driver’s license and will be required to pass a standard background check.

Experience Required:

·       Experience in identifying (by sight and sound) relevant bird species that occur in coastal Texas, particularly in salt marshes, is required. Relevant species songs and calls include: Black Rail, Yellow Rail, Sora, Virginia Rail, King/Clapper Rail.

·        Must have experience conducting point counts or other similar bird survey techniques.

·       Lead technician must be familiar with programming AudioMoths, or willing to be trained/shown by PhD student

Experience Preferred: Experience conducting vegetation surveys is preferred, as is familiarity with and an ability to orientate using a GPS unit.

If interested in applying, please contact Tabitha W. Olsen at tolsen@tamu.edu or tabithawolsen1@gmail.com with the following documents:

• Email header stating: TPWD Rail Position Application
• Cover Letter
• CV
• Contact of at minimum 3 references

If you have any questions, please email Tabitha Olsen at tolsen@tamu.edu or tabithawolsen1@gmail.com