Sarsha Gorissen is seeking volunteers for a conservation project in the Blue Mountains and Newnes Plateau for her PhD project: Conserving the endangered fauna of highland swamps.
Little is known about the flora and fauna in the endangered ecological community of highland peat swamps. We hope to improve management of these ecosystems by researching in particular the threatened reptiles and amphibians of these swamps, with a focus on an endangered lizard species.
Fieldwork Surveys — biotic and abiotic
- measuring and identifying reptiles, amphibians and small mammals
- capture/recapture trapping using pitfall and funnel traps
- temperature logging
- data entry
- equipment maintenance
- vegetation surveys
- fire ecology experiments
- driving
Location
Blue Mountains and Newnes Plateau
Volunteers
Committed, capable and hard-working; interested in fieldwork; can travel to the Blue Mountains; preferably have a BSc
Times
Seeking now volunteers for the Summer season.
Work is on weekdays, seldom weekends; between 2 and 8 hours/day; ideally, 3 days/week, usually Tues–Thurs afternoons and evenings, but days are weather dependent.
The fieldwork season is normally all “summer”, that is, spring (Sept-Nov), summer (Dec-Feb) and autumn (Mar-May). Work will continue in the summer of 2014/15. Any time you can commit is appreciated.
Please contact sgorissen@uni.sydney.edu.au
Sarsha Gorissen is a PhD Candidate at the School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Sydney.