Internships – Volunteer Field Research Assistants in Sea Turtle Nesting Project – 2025 Season!

Training Camp for Aspiring Sea Turtle Biologists and Conservationists.

Each year, we offer a hands-on learning experience in our Caribbean nesting beach project in Costa Rica, where people generally interested in marine conservation – and particularly in sea turtle biology and conservation – can intern as field research assistants (RAs).

We will have six spots per team available this upcoming 2025 nesting season: four spots for regular interns and two spots for interns with previous sea turtle experience.

Duration:

• Team 1: March 1st – June 15th (leatherback and hawksbill season)
• Team 2: June 15th – September 30th (leatherback and hawksbill season)

Study Site:

Our study site is the Gandoca-Manzanillo National Wildlife Refuge (RNVSGM) in the very South of Costa Rica. The sea turtle nesting habitat within RNVSGM encompasses 9.8 km of beach adjacent to the small village of Gandoca and several smaller playitas between Gandoca and the community of Manzanillo. RNVSGM also harbours coral reefs and seagrass beds, popular feeding sites for hawksbills and greens of different life stages. Our project is protecting and studying the three resident sea turtle species that are using RNVSGM for nesting: hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata), leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea), and less frequently green turtles (Chelonia mydas).

Once a critical leatherback turtle nesting habitat, RNVSGM’s leatherback nesting population has decreased substantially in size in the past ten years (from 300 to 800 nests per year to now 40 to 100 nests). However, we only recently discovered that RNVSGM hosts one of the largest nesting aggregations of the critically endangered hawksbill turtle in Costa Rica, with 100 to 160 nests yearly.

The Work:

From March until October each year, our project conducts nightly beach patrols (rain or shine) to encounter nesting females (primarily leatherbacks and hawksbill). The goal is to monitor the nesting populations and to protect the females and their eggs from illegal harvest and beach erosion.

Our work is a mix of conservation measures and scientific data collection. We mark individuals to estimate population size, collect different types of data on the morphology and growth rate of individuals, record the reproductive output of females, and calculate the hatching success of nests and the number of hatchlings produced. We further collect samples to conduct diet studies using stable isotope analysis, and we attach a few satellite transmitters each year to study the habitat use of our turtles.

What to Expect During an Internship:

Successful applicants are part of a small research team comprising local field research assistants from the community of Gandoca, two biologists, and fellow interns. Our local field staff speaks in large part only Spanish, and the intern teams will be a mix of different nationalities and cultures.

Our interns have the opportunity to help with any of the accruing project tasks throughout the field season. The work schedule is very dynamic and will be structured as demanded by the workload, but the core work will encompass nightly patrols (rain or shine) of 5–8 hours six nights out of the week with one night/day off per week. In general, fieldwork means long hours, little sleep, no weekends, no holidays, no fixed finishing times, and no predictable days off.

Each successful applicant will receive training on-site. Some work will be done during the day (e.g. preparing and cleaning equipment, transferring data, beach clean-ups, beach trash sorting and morning surveys). Major parts will be at night, searching for nesting females. Ultimately, we expect our interns to be dependable assistants who help with our daily tasks and ongoing research and are willing to go the extra mile.

Our project is based in a tiny rural Costa Rican town with no banks, restaurants, bars, and supermarkets but an incredible natural beauty. Our interns will live in a locally run cabina in shared quarters, where our local host, Maria, will prepare three daily meals.

Interns will spend much time with their other team members because of long working hours and shared quarters.

Managing Expectations:

We are based in the tropics, so temperatures are hot (32 °C/ 89 °F) and humid year-round, and it rains frequently (depending on the month of the year, sometimes every day for a few hours). We also have many bugs that range from flies and beetles to more annoying ants and the stinging blood-sucking variants (e.g. mosquitoes, sand flies, chiggers, etc.), which are our close companions.

Furthermore, we are far from civilization, so don’t expect urban entertainment or frequent touristy activities.

Lastly, the nature of our work, conserving critically endangered species, means that we are working with animals that have substantially decreased in numbers and are not abundant anymore. We cover large areas in our surveys; hence, you should not expect to see hundreds of adult turtles during your time on the project but rather a single nesting female every once in a while (an average of about one or less a week). Therefore, you should be prepared to walk many nights without seeing a single nesting female, being miserable from sleep deprivation, too much rain, and overall rustic conditions. On the bright side, you will get a realistic view of the life of a marine conservationist, and you should see a fair number of baby turtles during your time on the project as we produce between 12 and 20K babies each season. In addition, please keep in mind that our work is essential for the survival of these populations, and your support as an intern is invaluable.

Our Expectations:

A dedication to a positive and respectful working environment is crucial. We like our interns to be highly enthusiastic individuals who understand the importance of our work and are willing to complete the job meticulously and with dedication. We need each of our interns to pull their own weight and be ready to pitch in and carry more if another team member cannot. Successful applicants will be flexible individuals who can focus on various tasks (nightly patrols, data collection, handling animals, handling equipment, data entry, equipment maintenance, helping clean our workspace, etc.).

Large parts of our work involve walking long distances in soft sand at night without light and climbing steep, muddy trails. The climate is hot and humid, with frequent rain at any hour of the day. Thus, adequate physical fitness and being comfortable on a beach at night without light and in potentially harsh weather are requirements for intern work.

Precautions should be taken to avoid diseases by consulting an MD specialized in travel to tropical countries and following his instructions before arriving in the project: e.g. ensure that you have the proper vaccinations, mosquito repellent, and field first aid kit, which are the responsibility of the successful applicant.

Requirements (All Interns):

• 18+ years old;
• Mature attitude and professional demeanour;
• Future student, student or recent graduate in biology, wildlife management, ecology, marine biology (or similar), or a strong interest in the field of marine and wildlife conservation;
• We will give preference to people able to commit for the entire period (minimum stay of 8 weeks);
• Willingness to sign an indemnification/waiver (!).
• Travel Health Insurance that covers COVID-19-related expenses.
• Excellent physical fitness and ability to walk long distances (15-20 km) in soft sand and steep terrain;
• Being comfortable living in remote, shared, and rustic conditions (no AC, no internet, only cold showers, shared rooms, next major hospital several hours away);
• Upbeat personality, even in the face of severe sleep deprivation;
• Ability to lift 50 pounds and potentially restrain a 90-pound animal for several hours.
• Proficiency in Spanish would be excellent, but is not a requirement.
• Experience working abroad, under harsh weather conditions, especially in a tropical country, is desirable;
• Flexible, patient, and able to follow instructions;

Additional Requirements (Interns with Sea Turtle Experience):

• Familiar with international sea turtle research protocols (IUCN Sea Turtle Research and Management Techniques);
• 2+ months previous work in a sea turtle nesting beach project;
• Experience tagging sea turtles independently (external tags a must, PIT tags desired);
• Experience relocating nests from different sea turtle species independently;
• Experience collecting morphometric data from nesting females and hatchlings independently;
• Experience conducting nest excavations.

Please highlight your relevant experience in your cover letter and/or resume.

Cost of the Program/ Contribution:

Regular Interns: Because of limited available funds and our preference for creating jobs for community members and paying them fair wages, the regular internships are unpaid, and interns are expected to contribute US$ 15/day (~US$ 460/month) for their room and board in a locally run cabina. This fee covers adding interns to our research permits, entrance fees to the protected area, renting rooms for interns, paying a cook, three daily vegetarian meals, water, internet, and electricity for their stay.

Due to last-minute cancellations in previous years, interns are expected to pay the first month of their stay upon acceptance of the position and the rest of their room and board a few days after arriving in the project.

Interns with Sea Turtle Experience: For two interns with previous sea turtle experience, we will cover room and board and all the expenses related to adding them to our research permit (which is about the equivalent of a Costa Rican field technician’s salary).

All interns will be responsible for their travel expenses to and from the project site in Costa Rica (taxis and public buses), including any international travel costs. Interns are also expected to cover any other expenses outside the project, like extra food and transportation, that are not pertinent to the project work.

Benefits of our Training Camp:

Working as an intern for us is a unique opportunity to gain valuable field experience and knowledge relevant to the conservation, research, and management of sea turtles (or expand on existing expertise):

• Learn and practice sea turtle research and conservation methodologies and general field biology skills with our team;
• Practical training in data collection and handling of endangered wildlife;
• Insights into the running of a small grassroots project with local involvement;
• Opportunity to learn or improve your Spanish language or your English skills with the local staff and international interns.

Application Deadlines:

* Applications will be processed on a rolling basis. *

December 31st, 2024 (Team 1)

March 15th, 2025 (Team 2)

How to apply: https://www.coasts-cr.org/internships

Interested applicants should send a letter of interest stating which team and which internship they are applying for, a two-page resume (not CV), and contact information (email addresses) for two relevant references to

Caylin Kliner (coasts.cr@gmail.com). Subject line: “Interns Caribbean”