Internship Title: Creating a Digital Atlas of Vermont’s Ground Beetles
Internship Site: Vermont Center for Ecostudies (VCE), Norwich, VT (The work can be completed off-site with periodic check-in meetings at the VCE office.)
Description:
Dr. Ross Bell, UVM Professor Emeritus of Biology, and his wife Joyce spent decades amassing knowledge about the abundance and distribution of ground beetles (Carabidae) in Vermont and beyond. With Dr. Bell’s permission, the Vermont Center for Ecostudies (VCE) and our colleagues have translated this information, most of which consisted of hand-drawn maps of pencil on paper and handwritten notes, into a georeferenced dataset and a book that was published in 2016. Now, we are ready to publish this dataset, as well as other related data from other sources, online as part of the Vermont Atlas of Life (VAL, val.vtecostudies.org). This will make it freely available for use by the public and other researchers.
The steps needed to achieve this goal are as follows:
1. Modify the dataset so that it is Darwincore compatible (an internationally-recognized data standard).
2. Complete metadata for the dataset.
3. Obtain data from other researchers to complement the existing dataset (e.g., the State of Vermont’s tiger beetle dataset) and format it as described above.
4. Share the dataset(s) to the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF).
Optional addition to this project, ideal but not required:
1. Create a website (on an existing template within the larger VAL website) to include data, maps, and species information.
If the intern so desires, there will be the opportunity for limited field work in the summer as an extension of this work, and/or use of the dataset for a class project and/or student-led publication.
Desired qualifications/skills/coursework:
· Demonstrated ability to use and manipulate WordPress
· Familiarity with spreadsheets, maps, and metadata
· Familiarity with ArcGIS desirable but not required
· Clear, efficient, and engaging writing skills
· Ability to work independently and proactively, and to be accountable to the supervisor on a regular basis
· Attention to detail is absolutely essential.
Supervision:
Kent McFarland, Conservation Biologist
Start and End Dates:
Spring semester, 2017 – specific dates to be worked out between Kent and the selected intern
Estimated hours per week:
Total commitment: 100 hours (minimum), plus approximately 160 hours to complete the webpage. The work may be spread non-uniformly through the semester, with defined deliverables and benchmarks agreed upon at the outset.
Compensation/Willingness to support students to earn credit:
The student will receive a stipend of $500 to cover any expenses associated with periodic travel between UVM and VCE’s office in Norwich (approximately 95 miles each way) or other travel/miscellaneous expenses incurred.
VCE is willing to support the student’s efforts to earn credit, depending on what type of supervision and support is needed. These details should be discussed and agreed upon prior to the student’s engagement with VCE.
How to apply:
Please submit a resume and a cover letter electronically to Susan Hindinger at shindinger@vtecostudies.org – position will stay open until position is filled. Please put “UVM Spring 2017 Internship” in the subject line of your email. In your cover letter, please discuss your reasons for applying for this particular internship, highlight particular unique experience or strengths you bring to it, and what your goal(s) would be as a result of completing this internship.