Community Ecology Internship - Leadership Position

Although crocodiles are our focal species, the CRC recognizes successful conservation efforts cannot be executed without the knowledge of the significant abiotic and biotic interactions within crocodile habitat. Thus, our research expands beyond just crocodiles, initiating a community ecology project in the Placencia Lagoon. This project includes basic wildlife population surveys, as well as incorporates environmental parasitology in order to obtain a full spectrum of the human and environmental impact on crocodilian habitat. For more information on this project, please check out our Projects page.

To help us successfully execute the biodiversity surveys and obtain data for our long-term community ecology research, the CRC established the Community Ecology Internship (CEI) position in July 2018. This is a leadership position for young, inspiring conservationists, ecologists and biologists who are eager to get more experience while also contributing significant and relative data that will assist in local wildlife and habitat conservation and management. The CEI will be responsible for leading bird, and terrestrial wildlife surveys, in addition to collecting and analyzing parasitic data from snails. The CEI will be part of environmental parasitology projects and has the option of analyzing and publishing data in a peer-reviewed scientific journal. 

As of August 2022, the CRC is teaming up with Independence Junior College and mentoring 1-3 students in the CEI position. We look forward to providing an opportunity of science and research, fostering the next generation of Belizean scientists.

Previous Community Ecology Interns:

• 2018: Sierra McLinn, Clem Bonenfant
• 2019: Morgan Lucot
• 2020: Diana Zuniga
• 2021: Ellie Coleman, Clint Lockwood