Internship Opportunity: New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife
Waterfowl Program
The New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife (Division) is in need of a cooperator/student intern to operate
a banding station involving 2-4 traps on the Shark River estuary in the municipalities of
Belmar/Neptune/Wall in Monmouth County. The candidate will be responsible for baiting traps on a
daily basis during the winter semester break between 26 December and ~20 January 2016, keeping the
Division apprised of duck activity, and setting traps for capture when requested. The candidate will work
with Division staff to extract ducks from the traps, process and band them. The candidate will need suitable
winter clothing including chest waders and neoprene gloves to access traps comfortably. The Division may
be able to provide waders/gloves on loan if the candidate does not have these items available.
The ducks are captured using wire traps with the use of grains (i.e. corn) as bait. Typically, ducks are free
to swim/walk in and out of the traps to consume the bait. When ducks are using the traps regularly, traps
are closed such that ducks can go into the trap but not escape. All ducks are banded at the site and released
at the site immediately after banding. Ducks are banded under a permit issued by the US Geological
Service, Bird Banding Laboratory.
Since trapping and banding at this site is most successful around the high tide cycle, the candidate will be
expected to work with flexible hours including predawn and post-dusk as well as weekend work. The
candidate will be provided with bait for the duck traps but will need to use their own vehicle and gasoline
while running the banding station. No housing is provided. As such, this internship is probably most
suitable for a candidate who lives in or has housing readily available in eastern Monmouth County
during the winter semester break.
Each winter biologists and cooperators with the Division trap and mark American black ducks with leg
bands as part of an eastern waterfowl monitoring program. The primary objectives of the work are to
measure survival and recovery rates for black ducks. Black ducks are important game species in eastern
North America and a cornerstone wetland species in New Jersey. Black duck banding is conducted
between January 1 and March 20. When combined with population and harvest data, banding data
provides vital information on the life history, population status and ecology of waterfowl species. This
information is used to guide management decisions and monitor the effects of these decisions.
The selected candidate will be required to become a Division Wildlife Conservation Corps Volunteer
(http://njfishandwildlife.com/pdf/wcc_appl.pdf) prior to conducting any work and keep a daily log of
activities. This work qualifies for 2 research credits, required for Ecology, Evolution and Natural
Resources majors.
Interested candidates should contact:
Ted Nichols
Waterfowl Ecology and Management Program
NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife
2201 County Route 631
Woodbine, NJ 08270
Phone: 609-628-3218
ted.nichols@comcast.net
Dr. Brooke Maslo
Dept. of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
14 College Farm Road
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
848-932-5527
brooke.maslo@rutgers.edu