On-campus Summer Internship Opportunity in Sustainable Agriculture Entomology
Location: The Woody Perennial Polyculture Research Site (http://wppresearch.org/) is a diverse agroforestry plantingmodeled after native Illinois oak savanna, and includes a variety of fruit and nut crops. The goals of the site include quantifying ecological and economic comparisons between the agroforestry treatment and a conventional corn-soy control. The site is located at South Farm, near campus. Transportation can be provided if necessary.
Position Description: This internship will contribute to a master’s thesis project regarding the effects of plant species composition on insect pest, predator, and parasitoid communities in the agroforest.
The position involves assisting with insect sample collection on shrub and tree crops and performing vegetation measurement on 16 field days throughout the summer. In between field days, the intern will assist with sample processing and insect identification and rearing in the lab, with hours and schedule set by the intern.
Hours: Hours are flexible on a week-to-week basis but will minimum 14/week. Field days will begin after 9 AM—no early mornings—and last until midafternoon.
Dates: May-August 2016
Compensation: Work is unpaid but NRES course credit for internship will be provided. There are also opportunities to develop an independent project in the context of the research that could be continued into fall 2016 with an Undergraduate Research Fellowship in the Miller Lab of Ecology and Conservation Biology. Interns will obtain a broad competence in insect taxonomy and identification, and be exposed to a variety of other research techniques in entomology and agroecology.
Requirements for position:
While lab work can be done at the intern’s convenience, applicants need to be available for field sampling on relatively short notice and at irregular intervals throughout the summer. In 2015 sampling was done on June 27-28, July 14-15, August 11-12, and August 15-16, and those dates were decided within a week before sampling.
Interest in learning ecological field techniques and insect identification and taxonomy
Preferred skills: Prior experience in ecological field work and/or insect ID and taxonomy
To apply, send resume and cover letter describing interest in the position to Adam Kranz at akrnz@illinois.edu ASAP.