Summer Research Internships at the Saint Louis Zoo and the Missouri Botanical Garden
The Living Earth Collaborative offers paid, 10-week research internships at the zoo and Botanical Garden for Washington University undergraduates.
The Living Earth Collaborative and the Missouri Botanical Garden are pleased to announce the opening of the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program that will provide research opportunities for 10 weeks during the summer of 2018. Students will work on independent mentored projects in plant systematics, conservation biology, and ethnobotany. Participants will have access to the Garden’s herbarium of more than 6.5 million specimens, an excellent botanical library, rich garden collections, a laboratory facilities for plant anatomy, microscopy, digital imaging, SEM, and DNA analysis, and the Shaw Nature Reserve – a 2,400 acre ecological preserve featuring prairie, forest, glades, wetlands, and 14 miles of hiking trails.
Students will work closely with a Ph.D. mentor from the Missouri Botanical Garden on an independent research project. Projects available in 2018 involve subjects including taxonomy of tropical plant species, genetic diversity, speciation, conservation biology, restoration ecology, effects of climate change on plant phenology, ethnobotany, and new crop development. Students will be trained in all aspects of research, including project design, background research using library and electronic resources, methods, data collection and analysis, and presentation of results in a poster, public research symposium, and possibly a published paper.
For more information and how to apply, go to the Missouri Botanical Garden summer research fellowship website (link to this: http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/plant-science/plant-science/resources/opportunities/undergraduate-studies.aspx)
For more information on research mentors and projects, check out the Garden’s list (Link to this: http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/plant-science/plant-science/resources/opportunities/undergraduate-studies/2018.aspx)
The Living Earth Collaborative at Washington University and the Saint Louis Zoo’s Department of Reproductive and Behavioral Sciences are offering two paid summer internship opportunities in the Zoo’s animal behavior laboratory for students entering their junior or senior year at Washington University. Interns will be trained in behavioral data collection and basic data analysis. The interns will be trained to participate in a variety of behavioral projects at the Zoo based on live observations of animals and review of video, and each will be assigned an independent dataset to collate, summarize, and analyze under the supervision of Zoo staff. Studies of animal behavior are observational and do not involve animal contact. Previous course work in animal behavior is useful and previous experience with Microsoft Excel is required. Interns will work at the Zoo 40 hours/week on an 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. schedule Monday to Friday, with an hour break for lunch. The internship will last for 10 weeks, and interns will receive $500 per week. Interested interns should visit: https://www.stlzoo.org/animals/scienceresearch/researchinternships/ and follow the Application Instructions. Send applications via email to Eli Baskir at Baskir@stlzoo.org