Are you a student? Have you just graduated? Do you fancy joining us at sea?

Delfini del ponente offers the opportunity to take part in an internship for at least 30 days. We are based in the city of Imperia, positioned in a central area of the “Pelagos Sanctuary”.
Our program offers specific formation on cetaceans and other marine fauna and it is suitable for anyone willing to start a career as a marine biologist and researcher, or who has a strong interest in experiencing this field.
You won’t just assist us at sea in the monitoring of cetaceans and seabirds species, you also will help us in data analysis, photo-identification of bottlenose dolphins, while getting familiar with different types of software. Lectures about marine mammals, marine fauna and data collecting procedures will be held. We collaborate with many Italian Universities, offering credits and graduation internships.

WHERE

Imperia, Italy

WHEN

March-October

MINIMUM STAY

30 days

TEAM

2/3 interns

ACTIVITIES

BOAT-BASED SURVEYS,
Land-based monitoring,
Data collection about cetaceans, seabirds and other Mediterranean species,
Bottlenose dolphin photo-ID and matching,
Database update,
Opportunistic surveys in case of cetaceans warnings,
Beach surveys are only in July and August. Interns will conduct early morning surveys to look for nesting attempts from sea turtles occurring at night.

Lectures and conferences on biology, ecology, anatomy, physiology and research techniques used to study cetaceans and other marine fauna
The daily program may change subject to weather conditions since we can sail only if the sea state and wind are suitable.

REQUIREMENTS

Must be at least 18 years old,
Be flexible to unexpected plan changes (weather-depending activities),
Preference for Marine Biology, Veterinary Medicine, Natural Sciences, Environmental Sciences (or other inherent subjects) students or newly graduated,
Have a strong interest for scientific research and cetaceans,
Be capable and willing to stand for several hours on a dinghy in harsh meteorological conditions,
Be capable and willing to use binoculars for many consecutive hours,
Good knowledge of English (speaking, writing and listening),
Be able to swim.

Be sociable since any activity will involve all team members and all working and living spaces will be shared.
Our internships are a good opportunity if you want to do field work, learn sighting and identification techniques, collect data on cetaceans and marine fauna in their natural habitat. Activities that take place in the office enables you to acquire theoretical knowledge about research techniques and data analysis.
We decided to host a low number of interns to provide a high-quality experience, continuous support and observation from team researchers and the opportunity to actually be involved in any research step.

COSTS

Our research project is self-financed so the participation is subject to a monthly fee that will cover living and working expenses (apartment, bills, office, fuel, insurance, scientific formation).