[ES_JOBS_NET] Fisheries Oceanography Research Technician at East Carolina University

[Rebecca Asch]

*Fisheries Research Technician Position in the Department of Biology at 
East Carolina University *

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_Position Description_: The Asch Fisheries Oceanography Lab 
(http://www.ecu.edu/cs-cas/biology/Rebecca_Asch.cfm) at East Carolina 
University (ECU) is seeking to hire a research technician for a 
full-time, temporary position. The technician will be involved in two 
research projects. Approximately, 75% of the technician’s time will be 
spent on a project funded by the North Carolina Division of Marine 
Fisheries focused on identifying the offshore migration corridor and 
spawning grounds of southern flounder (/Paralichthys lethostigma/). A 
team of researchers at ECU, along with collaborators at the University 
of North Carolina-Wilmington and North Carolina State University, will 
undertake a multi-pronged approach to answer this question. The 
technician will play a lead role in aging larval southern flounder based 
on daily otolith growth increments. The technician will work closely 
with other Asch lab personnel to utilize data on larvae ages to run a 
larval dispersal model to back calculate the potential spawning 
locations from which these fishes originated. The technician will also 
work with a team of ECU researchers from multiple labs to tag adult 
southern flounder prior to the start of their offshore migration. The 
technician will be involved in fieldwork deploying and maintaining 
acoustic receivers to track tagged fishes and utilizing a wave glider 
equipped with additional acoustic receivers to follow the location of 
tagged fishes. If candidate spawning grounds are successful located, the 
technician will assist this research team in conducting surveys to 
confirm spawning activity. Using data from these surveys, the technician 
will sort plankton samples and use DNA barcoding to confirm the 
occurrence of southern flounder eggs and will use histology to assess 
the reproductive state of fishes caught near the potential spawning 
grounds.__


Approximately 25% of this technician’s time will be spent on a second 
project where the Asch Lab is partnering with the Beaufort, North 
Carolina branch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
(NOAA) to expand the Beaufort Inlet Ichthyoplankton Sampling Program 
(BIISP). BIISP has been collecting weekly ichthyoplankton samples at 
Beaufort Inlet during fall through spring months since the year 1987, 
making it the longest continuously operating ichthyoplankton time series 
on the east coast of the U.S. This time series has the potential to 
provide valuable information on how local fish communities are 
responding to climate variability and climate change. We have expanded 
the BIISP time series by lengthening the duration of the sampling season 
so that it is year round, as well as by collecting weekly 
mesozooplankton samples and conducting YSI profiles of temperature, 
salinity, dissolved oxygen, pH, and fluorescence. Together with other 
members of the Asch lab and NOAA, the technician will be responsible for 
traveling to Beaufort once a week, collecting the enhanced BIISP 
samples, and recording and transcribing YSI water quality measurements. 
Since larval fish are capable of avoiding capture by plankton nets 
during the day, all sampling will be conducted at night and will be 
timed to coincide with tidal fluctuations. During time periods when 
fieldwork is not underway for the southern flounder project, this 
technician will help process ichthyoplankton and zooplankton samples 
collected by BIISP. Mesozooplankton samples will be analyzed using a 
ZooScan system (http://www.hydroptic.com/zooscan.html) and Ecotaxa 
software, which is used to image a subsample of zooplankton and then 
apply a machine learning algorithm to semi-automatically identify taxa. 
The technician may also help sort and identify species from BIISP 
samples of larval and juvenile fishes collected during summer months.


Lastly, it is expected that this technician will take on some duties 
associated with lab management including training students in lab 
protocols, helping to order lab supplies, assuring compliance with lab 
safety regulations, and maintaining the lab in clean and functioning 
order. The successful candidate for this position will also be 
encouraged to take on additional roles associated with statistical 
analysis of data, preparation of manuscripts for publication, and the 
presentation of results at scientific conferences.

This will initially be a one-year position, with the potential for 
renewal contingent upon available funding and satisfactory performance.

We aim to have the selected candidate start work in early June. However, 
given the COVID-19 pandemic, the starting date for this position is 
flexible and may depend on university priorities for critical and 
non-critical research during the pandemic.

Located in Greenville, North Carolina, ECU seeks to create an 
environment that fosters the recruitment and retention of a diverse 
student body, faculty, staff and administration and works to increase 
diversity and access to higher education for groups underrepresented in 
the sciences by building an environment that welcomes, celebrates, and 
promotes respect for diversity. East Carolina University is an equal 
opportunity and affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants 
will receive consideration for employment without regard to their 
race/ethnicity, color, genetic information, national origin, religion, 
sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, political 
affiliation, or veteran status.

_Minimum Education/Experience_*:*

·B.S. degree in marine science, biology, ecology, oceanography, natural 
resource management, or similar fields. Must have taken at least some 
coursework in marine ecology.

·Ability to drive state owned vehicles, conduct ecological fieldwork in 
wet and occasionally uncomfortable conditions at night-time, and carry 
field equipment weighing up to ~30 lbs.

·Independent self-starter who is excited to learn new skills and has the 
ability to problem shoot technical challenges.

_Preferred Experience, Skills, Training/Education:_

·Masters of science degree in marine science, biology, ecology, 
oceanography, natural resource management, or similar fields.

·1-2 years of experience at the post-baccalaureate level working in a 
lab focused on conducting marine ecological or fisheries research.

·Previous experience examining fish otoliths, tagging fishes, collecting 
and processing ichthyoplankton and zooplankton samples in marine and 
estuarine environments, operating a ZooScan, and/or modeling larval 
dispersal.

·Experience operating small boats.

·Experience analyzing data with MATLAB or R.

·Has written and published scientific manuscripts and has presented 
scientific results at conferences.

_Salary_: While this is an hourly position, we anticipate that the 
salary for this hire will be approximately $31,200 per year. The exact 
annual salary will vary depending on the level of experience and hours 
worked.

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_Application Instructions_: The full job announcement and instructions 
for applying to this position are available: 
https://ecu.peopleadmin.com/postings/35046. Please submit a CV, cover 
letter, and list of references to Ms. Jennifer B. Jacobs at 
jacobsje15 at ecu.edu <mailto:jacobsje15 at ecu.edu>. This position will be 
open for applications through April 30, 2020. Please contact Dr. Rebecca 
Asch (aschr16 at ecu.edu) <mailto:aschr16 at ecu.edu)>regarding any questions 
that you may have about this posting.

-- 
Dr. Rebecca G. Asch
Assistant Professor of Fisheries Biology
Sloan Foundation Research Fellow in Ocean Sciences
Pronouns: she/her/hers

East Carolina University
Department of Biology, Mail Stop 551
Howell Science Complex, Office S408
1000 East 5th Street
Greenville, NC 27858

Office phone: +1 252 328-6307
Email:aschr16 at ecu.edu

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