Urgente: Voluntariado/prácticas de investigación en Panamá

Project: What causes the high biodiversity of the Neotropics? A systematic analysis.

Opportunity: an intern is needed to be trained in meta-analysis of
literature, databases and analysis of data on Neotropical biodiversity. The
intern will live in the rainforest in Panama and study at the Smithsonian
Tropical Research Institute, a globally leading centre for the study of
tropical environments (stri.si.edu).

Research: Neotropics are the most biodiverse area of the planet. What
factors have contributed to the exceptional richness of life in the region?
Hundreds of studies attempt to answer this question for individual taxa,
from mammals through trees to butterflies. A meta-analysis of results from
separate studies of many groups is needed to capture the general trends.
The intern will be trained to compile and analyse information from
published studies. The intern will explore several taxonomic groups, and
learn critical review of scientific literature, collection of data from
public repositories, and complex quantitative analysis. Skills acquired in
this project can be widely applied in biodiversity conservation,
bioinformatics and comparative biology. The question of diversity in the
Neotropics remains a great enigma of biology ĄV the intern will have a
chance to develop their own answers.

Time and place: 3 months, early 2018; STRI facility in Gamboa, Panama, a
pleasant village halfway up the Panama Canal in the Soberania National
Park. In their free time the intern can enjoy the spectacular outdoors,
Caribbean and Pacific beaches, or the booming Panama City. STRI is also an
excellent place to find other opportunities for fieldwork, graduate school,
etc. The intern will be welcome to join occasional entomological excursions.

Cost: A stipend to cover living costs is offered. The intern needs to pay
for a flight to Panama.

Requirements: Current undergraduates or recent graduates only.

Required: very good English; strong interest in biogeography, ecology and
evolution; willingness to learn quantitative methods.

Useful: programming skills (e.g. R, python, SQL); familiarity with
statistics, modelling, etc. No Spanish needed.

Application: contact Dr Chris Kozak urgently (kmkozak87@gmail.com; Skype:
kmkozak).

Interns are selected in a competition: the candidate will have to submit an
application early next week (around Monday 16/10/17). Application includes
a letter of intent, transcripts and a recommendation.