Overview

The Pacific region is characterized by a vast expanse of ocean a third of the earth’s surface, but sprinkled across it are numerous islands, home to some of the most unusual birds and other biodiversity on the planet, typically a product of their isolation. Seabirds are one example and a unique bridge between the terrestrial and marine realms, perhaps unsurprisingly upward of 62 species regularly use the tropical Pacific, and while the region is undeniably the seabird capital of the world, all is not well. Some are abundant and breed in enormous colonies on remote atolls, others are poorly known, rare and highly threatened. However, it is the multitude of threats including invasive alien species, habitat loss, fisheries bycatch and marine pollutants that have driven seabird population declines to become among the most globally threatened group of birds.

BirdLife Pacific in collaboration with national Partners are confronting these issues in a number of ways including species recovery programmes and through invasive alien species management, bycatch mitigation, assessing the status of populations and securing protection for marine areas. The Marine Birds Conservation Officer will work within this scope and provide a coordination role particularly, for species recovery and restoration monitoring needs. The position is to be based in the BirdLife Pacific Regional Office in Suva, Fiji and is offered as a six month internship.
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MARINE BIRDS CONSERVATION OFFICER, PACIFIC (SUVA, FIJI)

Primary Responsibilities
To lead the Fiji Petrel recovery programme which includes conducting a review of previous Fiji Petrel conservation efforts and identifying priority conservation actions to locate the petrel’s breeding grounds. Field applications to be supported include applying and developing acoustic search techniques and other ground and marine based search methods as appropriate. Another component involves monitoring a response by seabirds and other biodiversity to the removal of invasive predators from islands in Fiji. A willingness to train locals in these conservation techniques and spend extended periods in basic field conditions will be important. Other responsibilities may include supporting the development of Marine Important Bird Areas for the Pacific, site surveys, and implementation of invasive vertebrate eradications.

Key Requirements
 Graduate qualification in biology or related discipline
 Demonstrated field experience in seabird conservation, monitoring and isolated field conditions
 Excellent scientific analytical skills preferably of sound recordings, spatial data (GIS) and in threatened species conservation planning

Employment Terms
The post is offered as a six month internship, commencing from mid-January 2018. Subject to funding the position could be extended and developed further in scope.