Coastal Prairie Research INTERNSHIP, Part Time
Location: Gray Ranch, Vinton, LA
Supervisor: Brian Early
Background: Coastal prairie was once expansive in
southwestern Louisiana, occupying 2.5 million acres. Due mainly to conversion of prairie land to
agriculture uses, only an estimated 0.2% of this grassland remains. The most promising coastal prairie remnants
in Louisiana are found on private ranches in the Lake Charles area and are
utilized as rangeland. Through ongoing
Coastal Prairie Stewardship and Research efforts, LDWF is providing information
on the recovery potential of coastal prairie following heavy grazing and has
performed habitat stewardship, including prescribed burning and chemical brush
control, on several rangeland prairie remnants to enhance prairie habitat in
southwest Louisiana.
Project
Scope: The student intern will contribute to a
long-term field experiment designed to determine the recovery potential of wet
coastal prairie that has experienced historical episodes of heavy grazing. The
study site supports remnant coastal prairie with the vegetation consisting of
conservative prairie species as well as “increasers” and weedy taxa typical of
disturbed soils. Grasses that typically
dominate prairie communities have been reduced in extent by incompatible
grazing. In 2013, a series of nine
cattle enclosures were erected. The study area has been burned annually since
2015 and will be burned again in early 2018. The student intern will collect
and analyze quantitative vegetation data and make inferences about the
treatment effects on plant species diversity and floristic quality. Vegetation
data collection will require 5 to 7 days of fieldwork and would best be timed
to coincide with peak fall flowering (late September to early October). Reptile and amphibian traps will be deployed
in 2018 on a subset of the treatment areas. The student will also use
vegetation data to test for possible influences of habitat variables on reptile
and amphibian trapping results.
Timing: 2018 Fall Semester (August 20
- December 31, 2018); 20 hours per week. Data collection is ongoing and
began in January 2018; data analysis will take place from September to November
2018; writing of research paper in late November to December 2018.
Compensation:
Student
intern will receive compensation at the rate of $10.00/hour. College credit
will be contingent upon university approval.
Housing: There are no LDWF lodging facilities in the
area.
Note: Student intern will be required by the
landowner to sign an indemnification form.
To
Apply: To apply for this
internship, please submit your cover letter, resume, and student application
via email to Carey Lynn Perry at cperry@wlf.la.gov. The deadline to apply is July 20, 2018. This
internship would take place during the 2018 Fall Semester (August 20 - December
31, 2018).
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