Our goals are to provide leadership in education; research and conservation and the wise use of resources in the tropics.
Our sea turtle monitoring project covers the nesting seasons of green; leatherback and hawksbill turtles.
There are a mix of night patrols and morning census; with teams of 3-4 walking for 4-6 hours a night. Team members on night patrol work with nesting turtles; taking carapace measurements; counting eggs; checking or placing tags and triangulating and disguising nests; as well as providing the beach presence to protect turtles from poachers.
Morning census teams check nests from previous nights; recording poaching; predation and hatching events; as well as placing bamboo barriers to reduce predation.
Teams maintain equipment; and assist with data entry; and individuals who excel may be trained to lead patrols and provide training for incoming interns and volunteers.
Please send CV’s to station@coterc.org along with an indication of your preferred dates; and whether you are applying for Research Assistant position or internship. Positions are filled on a rolling basis.
We also seek interns for six week periods. Interns who excel; may be invited back as Research Assistants.
May through October
10 weeks
Adults of both sexes 18+
Applicants need to have adequate fitness to walk for 6 hours on uneven, sandy terrain on consecutive nights, without artificial light. You must also be open to living and working in basic conditions in a diverse team environment. Research Assistants require previous experience in a similar project, including applying Inconel tags. Interns should be studying or be recent graduates of a relevant biology/conservation degree, but don’t need previous experience with turtle fieldwork. We require proof of a negative Covid test prior to arrival.
Research Assistants receive free room and board.
Playa Norte, San Francisco de Tortuguero
