VOLUNTEERS REQUIRED FOR A BEHAVIOURAL RESPONSE STUDY ON HUMPBACK WHALES IN AUSTRALIA
The Cetacean Ecology and Acoustics Group at the University of Queensland are seeking expressions of interest from volunteers for a six-week behavioural response study (BRS) on humpback whales from September 8 to October 19 this year (2024).
The study will be conducted at Peregian Beach on the Sunshine Coast, just north of Brisbane, and follows several successful studies of humpback whale vocalisations and behaviour at the same site during the Humpback whale Acoustic Research Collaboration (HARC; 2002 – 2008), the BRAHSS experiments in 2010 – 2015 (http://www.brahss.org.au/; https://www.ceal.lab.uq.edu.au/ ) and years 1, 2 and 3 (2021, 2022, 2023) of the “Hearing in Humpbacks” project.
You are required mainly to conduct land-based observations of the whales as they pass our study site. Although volunteers will be used to help on the boats, opportunities for volunteers to participate in boat work are limited, and most time will be spent doing land-based observations.
You will receive detailed training at the beginning of the project and therefore successful applicants must be available for the entire duration of the project. A high standard of safety will be maintained throughout the field work and volunteers will be trained in safety procedures. You must be sociable as they will be expected to work and live as part of teams with shared cooking and cleaning duties. We expect that there will be up to 30 people (researchers, staff, and volunteers) at the site.
You must organise and pay for their own transport to the study site (approximately 1.5h from the Brisbane Airport or 30 mins from the Sunshine Coast Airport) but food and accommodation are provided once there. Meals are communal.
This project will suit people with a background in science (including recent graduates and graduate students as well as higher level undergraduate students) keen to gain experience in cetacean survey techniques, acoustics, and behavioural response studies. Applicants should also be highly motivated, enthusiastic, sociable, and able to concentrate for several hours at a time. Those with previous survey experience of marine mammals or other taxa will be preferred.
Applicants should reply with an email to Rebecca Dunlop (r.dunlop@uq.edu.au), Kelsey Stone (kelsey.stone@uq.edu.au), Riona McNamara (r.mcnamara@uq.net.au), and Liam Johnson (l.e.johnson@uq.edu.au) outlining why they would be suitable for this work, why they would like to participate, an outline of previous relevant experience, and any other relevant details. The email should include an attached CV and the names and contact details of two professional referees. The closing date for volunteer applications is 30 April and successful field applicants will be notified in late May.
