Required qualifications: Accurate data collection. Detail-oriented. Tolerance for tedious lab work. Ability to use dichotomous key. Follow specific laboratory protocols. Full Covid-19 vaccination.
Desired qualifications: Driving 4WD on wet dirt roads. Field sampling for water quality and/or nutrient chemistry. Field sampling for aquatic invertebrates and/or zooplankton. Knowledge and interest in floodplain/wetland ecology. First aid. Laboratory experience. Aquatic invertebrate identification experience.
Job description: I seek a lab/field technician to work full time starting ASAP. To start, lab work will be the primary focus. Field work will start around November 1, 2023. The lab work will consist primarily of zooplankton identification and water sample post-processing for nutrient contents and chlorophyll-a. Lab work can be conducted will be conducted at the California Trout office in Woodland, CA with an option to set up a remote home work station after a trial period.
The field work will consist primarily of working as part of a crew conducting weekly monitoring of wetland habitats for water quality, nutrient chemistry, and zooplankton production. Habitats include flooded rice farms, flood bypasses, rivers, and managed wetlands throughout the Sacramento Valley in Yolo, Colusa, and Sutter Counties. There may be occasional opportunities to sample other ecosystem parameters and fish assemblages with various methodologies, too.
Project summary: This is a fish-centric conservation project focusing on floodplain/river reconnection to benefit rearing juvenile salmonids in the Sacramento Valley. However, it is an interdisciplinary project involving farmers, hunters, birders, sport fishers, and conservationists. The ideal candidate must perform well in both laboratory and field work environments. Wetland habitats and fisheries-specific protocols will be our primary work, however a background in fish is not necessary. All wetland experience is potentially relevant and desirable. For media describing this project see:
https://caltrout.org/article/the-fish-food-story
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miIhs-mc_40
https://vimeo.com/617125839
Please send cover letter, resume, and two references (at least one professional) to Jacob Montgomery AND Jennifer Kronk via email: jacob@caltrout.org, jnkronk@ucdavis.edu