Institute of Marine Sciences at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC), working in conjunction with the NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service Southwest Fisheries Science Center (NOAA Fisheries), invites applications for the position of Green Sturgeon Census Specialist. Under the direction of Dr. Peter Dudley, the specialist will develop a habitat selection model for spawning green sturgeon and will organize the green sturgeon spawning population annual census. The specialist will be encouraged to use established or novel techniques with large data sets of sturgeon presence data and physical habitat modeling data to model spawning habitat use. This is an exciting opportunity to work on a threatened species in a system of national importance. The work is both fundamental and applied and the applications of this work will inform official NOAA policy and will have a direct effect on management issues on the system. Historically, the Southwest Fisheries Science Center has conducted a multiyear survey of spawning green sturgeon in the Sacramento River using DIDSON and Side-Scan Sonar to estimate local abundances using statistical tools. This work is to continue that effort and investigate green sturgeon habitat use and response to environmental drivers.

The specialist will work under the supervision and direction of Dr. Peter Dudley (UCSC) and will collaborate with other NOAA Fisheries Scientists and UCSC researchers. The position will be based at the Southwest Fisheries Science Center in Santa Cruz, CA, and will be part of the Fisheries Collaborative Program.

Applicants with expertise in any of the following areas are strongly encouraged to apply:

• Overseeing the logistics of ecological fieldwork.
• Conducting animal censuses.
• Habitat selection modeling.
• Programming languages commonly used for statistical modeling (R, or others).
• Demonstrated record of scientific publishing and oral presentation.

Applicants with one year of research experience in relevant fields are encouraged to apply. A preference is given to those with 3 or more years of research experience in relevant fields.

A strong preference will be given to candidates who have overseen or actively participated in field work logistics such as organizing multi-day field campaigns involving the deployment and use of scientific instruments, following field safety protocols, and executing field campaigns.