The University of Oslo (UiO) is collaborating with Addis Ababa University (AAU), Ethiopia, through a NORPART student exchange program. We are now seeking Master’s students to take part in biodiversity surveys in a remote and little known area of south-western Ethiopia.
The work will be facilitated through collaboration with Akobo Minerals, a small Norwegian gold mining and exploration company that has set high goals for their contribution to ecosystem conservation/restoration and sustainable development (https://akobominerals.com/). The student(s) will work with a team of researchers, PhD-students and Master’s students from UiO, AAU, Jimma University as well as consultants associated with Akobo Minerals. We are seeking to map, describe and quantify biodiversity in the area with respect to a wide range of organism groups in terrestrial and riparian ecosystems. Ultimately, we also want to identify conservation priority areas as well as threats to biodiversity in the area. Methods may involve environmental DNA, camera traps, drone surveying, bio-acoustics, mist netting of birds, small mammal trapping, etc. More specific student projects will be formulated together with the students, depending on their interests and the development of the larger project.
Students from UiO will spend about 6 weeks in the field, and should be highly motivated to learn about biodiversity in the area as well as methods for biodiversity surveys. The project is also a good opportunity to learn state of the art sampling design and statistical modelling of biodiversity and abundance data. We particularly welcome students who have a keen interest in certain organism groups and/or strong quantitative or technical skills. Please contact Torbjørn Ergon <t.h.ergon@ibv.uio.no> for further information and discussion.
Team of supervisors:
- Torbjørn Ergon, IBV, UiO
- Anagaw Atickem, Addis Abeba University
- Tariku Mekonnen Gutema, Jimma University
- Chris Horrill, Independent community ecology consultant of Akobo Minerals
- Cathryn MacCallum, Head of ESG, Akobo Minerals