Volunteer position for field and laboratory work on bird gastrointestinal parasitism in the Zoque jungle, Chiapas, México

This volunteer position is open to any person with interest in neotropical bird conservation and bird disease ecology. This project is part of the doctoral project entitled "Effect of the environmental heterogeneity on the prevalence and diversity of gastrointestinal parasites in birds of the Biosphere Reserve Selva El Ocote, Chiapas, Mexico" which is currently registered in ECOSUR San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas. 

Volunteers will be helping main activities in the project: 1) Field work, which includes bird captures with mist nets to collect feces samples, this will take place in the Zoque jungle and rural communities in Chiapas. To obtain the samples we will be camping for five days in high and medium sub deciduous forest, low deciduous jungle, rural communities and grasslands. Field work will be done with one week interval. 2) Laboratory work, this will include sample processing and parasite identification and isolation in ECOSUR, in the city of San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas. 

Bird identification skills and mist net trapping experience is needed (bird extraction and manipulation), there is not need for laboratory experience, skills will be acquired during your stay.

Start date: July 15 of 2023

Field expenses and accomodation in San Cristóbal de Las Casas is covered.

For more information check the attached file or send an e mail to filiberto.gonzalez@posgrado.ecosur.mx or fili.gmd@gmail.com.

Environmental heterogeneity and bird parasitism, Zoque jungle, Mexico.pdf