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The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Center for Aquatic Mollusk Programs (CAMP) has a very exciting summer internship opportunity that we would like to share with you and your students! I've attached a flyer that summarizes the internships offered. Please feel free to place this flyer on your bulletin boards or share this email with other faculty or any interested students. I would also be more than willing to give a virtual presentation about mussels, their importance, and the activities of our program to any classroom that's interested.
Our program, CAMP, specializes in native freshwater mussel conservation. We propagate native freshwater mussels at our lab in Lake City, MN, with the goal of reintroducing them into streams and rivers in Minnesota and restoring their populations in their historic range. We also use scuba to monitor existing populations of mussels across the state of Minnesota. Both our propagation lab and our field team have internship positions available for students pursuing a degree in biology or other fields related to the environment (ecology, GIS, etc.).
For those who don’t know, native freshwater mussels are essential in maintaining the health and resilience of our freshwater ecosystems. We often call them the “livers of the river” because they filter feed particles like algae, E.coli, and even fungi out of the water column and clean our water. They also provide habitat for other invertebrates and fish, and they deposit nutrients into the benthic layer for other animals to eat. Unfortunately, native freshwater mussel populations are threatened due to a multitude of anthropogenic stressors including poor water quality, stream fragmentation, and the colonization of invasive species. Freshwater mussels have only been studied for ~20 years and there are many things unknown about them, making malacology (the study of freshwater mussels) a great research and career opportunity!
This internship has the potential to be an independent study for your students and it is incredibly fun and educational! I myself was an intern for two summers and I fell in love with mussels! Interns will learn about native freshwater mussels and their importance in our freshwater ecosystems. They will also learn about mussel propagation strategies, mussel and fish identification, factors that are threatening mussel populations, and practicing safe scuba diving in unique diving conditions. Our lab often works with other state and national agencies, and there are many opportunities for interns to network and get a foot-in-the-door in the world of conservation. Many of our past interns have pursued higher education related to mussels or go on to work in natural resource conservation.
This is a paid internship. Interns receive $19/hr (40 hours a week, but overtime is common). Unfortunately, we cannot provide housing for interns. Most interns rent apartments with short-term leases for the summer or live with host families. However, I do run a carpool from my residence in Hastings, MN, so if interns live north of Lake City I can help reduce their gas consumption. We can also recommend cities that generally have cheaper rentals.
The application for the internship opens January 2nd and closes January 31st. Interested candidates can apply by searching the word “mussel” on the Minnesota State Jobs website:
Search Jobs / Careers in the State of Minnesota
*as a side note, any students applying for an internship do not have to be scuba certified before they apply, but they do need to be willing to become certified before the start date of their internship (we are available to help students find the resources to do this).
If you have any question about the internship, application, or our program feel free to email me at zoe.schroeder@state.mn.us