2008 Internship Position Descriptions
All positions 40 hours/week, seasonal
Plant Community Ecology Intern
Most of the internships at Cedar Creek focus on plant community ecology. We have two large scale experiments and various smaller scale experiments that require around 30 interns throughout the summer. One of the large scale experiments is BioCON in which we explore the ways in which plant communities respond to environmental changes such as increased nitrogen deposition, increased atmospheric CO2, decreased biodiversity, and altered precipitation patterns. The other is the biodiversity experiment which studies how plant diversity affects the rates, dynamics, and stability of ecological processes at the population, community, and ecosystem levels. There are multiple experiments nested within the biodiversity experiment looking at factors such as fertilization, irrigation and increased temperatures. Throughout the summer we monitor, maintain and sample aboveground and belowground biomass as well as soils in these experiments. Some interns will also use various machines, such as an infrared gas analyzer to measure the amount of CO2 coming from the soil, and a time domain reflectometry machine to measure soil moisture in plots down to a meter. Interns do work outside in all weather conditions throughout the summer. Most of these internships start in May/June and extend to August/September, with a few positions starting in April and some positions ending as late as December.
BioCON Information Biodiversity Expeiriment Information
Wildlife Biology Intern
Cedar Creek started monitoring small mammal populations in our prairies in 1984 and other habitats, which include oak savannas, oak forests, wetlands, and cedar bogs in 2007. Along with this, Cedar Creek has new prairie and savanna restoration projects that we are also trying to gather base-line small mammal data for. We need one or two individuals to continue to monitor and set up new trap lines using Sherman live traps. Once trapped, one must identify each mammal to species, sex, and age (either adult or juvenile) as well as measure the mammal’s body length and total mass. The person(s) applying for this position must be willing to work independently and have good communication skills. The person(s) must also have a flexible schedule to work odd hours. The internship could start as early as May/June and go to August/September.
Soil Hydrology Intern
The soil hydrology intern(s) will primarily work on a new project started in 2007 which investigates biofuels and water quality. Ultimately, the goal of the project is to both observe and model the movement of agricultural contaminants (nitrogen, phosphorus, and antibiotics) through the unsaturated zone below different biofuel crops: corn, hay, and diverse prairie. We have several sensors in place for monitoring soil water potential, moisture content, water flux, and soil temperature. We will be installing more moisture monitoring equipment and collecting soil water samples and groundwater samples throughout the summer. Specific internship duties for this project will include soil sampling, soil and plant chemical extractions, data collection from instrumentation, installation of new equipment, data analysis, and biofuel production assessment. Several other projects at Cedar Creek have soil sampling and analysis components as well so some of your time may be spent working with these projects.
Soil Hydrology Research Information
Environmental Education / Interpretive Guide
Do you have passion for the outdoors and teaching others about it? This is the job for you! Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve of the University of Minnesota is looking for two environmental educational/ interpretive guide interns. These positions would start May/June and go through August/September. Cedar Creek is endowed with a diverse mosaic of prairie, savanna, sedge meadows, bogs, open water, and forests. Much of Cedar Creek’s scientific research work examines the ecology of our changing planet; topics include, but are not limited to: biodiversity, productivity, nutrient retention, effects of fire, and herbivory by insects.
The persons in this internship would help interpret and communicate Cedar Creek’s experiments and natural resources to the outside community through our school-yard program and our interpretive trail.
Some duties include:
Minimum Qualifications: Ideal candidate will be in a college program working towards a degree in education, recreation resource management, environmental studies, natural history, natural resources science & management, biology or other related field. Experience in outdoors, camping and working with school-age children is helpful.
Botany Intern
Cedar Creek has habitats of the three largest ecosystems of North America; western prairies, northern evergreen forests, and the eastern broadleaf forests. Primarily our research is concentrated on the prairies and oak savannas that make up about a third of Cedar Creek’s 5400 acres. We are looking for a couple of individuals that have strong botanical skills in prairie and woody species. Duties will include: helping researchers and summer interns with plant ID’s, performing percent cover for a variety of experiments, and adding to our plant collection if needed. Cedar Creek has an on-line and on-site herbarium that you would have access to. Positions start early to mid June and run through August/September.
Science and Natural History Writer
Cedar Creek is looking for an individual to take our research experiments and create informational web pages, brochures, signage, and articles for our outreach program. The person applying for this position must have strong verbal and written communication skills as well as experience and/or coursework in natural sciences. Having some working knowledge of general web design and programs, such as Illustrator and Dreamweaver, is a plus but not necessary. This internship begins in May/June and will last into August/September. Please include a writing sample with your application.
The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity employer and educator
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