2026 Internship Opportunities

The intern(s) will join a team of graduate and undergraduate student researchers on a long-term study of a population of marmots living in the western Rocky Mountains near the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL), ongoing since 1962. The study involves daily field work, hiking, gravel biking, trapping and handling of live animals, and observing and recording marmot behaviors using field notes and audio recorders. The student will assist with and at times lead a 2-person team in marmot live trapping and handling of adult and juveniles animals (pups). The student will assist with annual collection of biological samples including blood, hair, feces and saliva, as well as processing and organizing these samples in the lab and entering data into a digital database. Student will be a full team member and contribute to the scientific community of students, faculty and staff at RMBL for the summer. Opportunities for independent research in climate change or animal behavior are possible using long-term marmot datasets.

Learn more about this research here:
https://sites.lifesci.ucla.edu/eeb-rmbl-marmots/

Bringing a positive attitude and a desire to learn to the field, working independently in remote settings, working in a team, following detailed protocols carefully, being comfortable with sudden schedule changes and unpredictable weather, attending weekly lab meetings, entering and organizing data in spreadsheets, hiking over rocky and loose terrain at high elevation, gravel biking, waking up early (~6am) 6 days a week.

Students will learn about long-term research on wild animals, field work at field stations, the ecology of mountain ecosystems and animal behavior. Students will also gain tangible skills in animal handling and sampling, including blood sampling from medium sized mammals.

EEB 211 and/or EEB 321 preferred.

• Ability to hike uphill and ride a bike on gravel required.
• Some Excel and/or R experience preferred.

Hiking for up to 1 mile uphill on loose rock and steep terrain including off trail, working in wet and rainy as well as hot and dry conditions at high elevation (>9500 ft), biting insects, moose and bear encounters are possible, as well as unpredictable weather and frequent thunderstorms. Biking on unstable gravel up and down steep hills will occur.

Laptop, notebook, hiking boots, rain pants, binoculars, 35+ liter backpack.

• RMBL is an independent high elevation field station and non-profit organization that hosts ~200 scientists from all over the world each summer on site. Learn more about the setting here: https://www.rmbl.org/
• Selected student(s) will need to complete RMBL registration upon acceptance. Student(s) are responsible for station fees and are encouraged to select housing at RMBL that fits within budget.
• Students will meet with internship mentors in the spring, prior to the internship start date. Reading materials may also be provided.
• Students will receive 2+ weeks of on-the-job training covering numerous internship- and field-related tasks once at RMBL. Additional specialized training will proceed as the field season progresses. Field work is 6 days/week (which includes field work on one weekend day), roughly from 6am-12pm and 3-6pm for most of those days.
• Students are required to register their travel with the University through Enroll My Trip. Information related to the University’s Permissible Travel Guidelines can be found here. Funding is contingent on travel registration and University approval.