Biological Science Aid USDA-ARS At — U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS)

The objective of this opportunity at USDA-ARS is:

• To count western flower thrips populations on lettuce plants via traps and washing.
• To investigate if higher densities of Western flower thrips populations are directly responsible for INSV disease incidents present within lettuce fields.
• To collect and replace traps set along the Salinas Valley to monitor insect populations.

Some micro biology lab work is wanted, but not necessary. This opportunity looks for motivated individuals with an area of interest in fieldwork, such as:

• setting up field trials and hands-on work within agriculture.
• assisting with setting up field trials studying the spread of the INSV virus by sampling and data entry.
• weekly monitoring of insect traps is done to track insect populations throughout the Salinas Valley.
• assist in rearing populations on western flower thrips at the USDA-Salinas location.

This opportunity is also open to people with experience with lab molecular biology skills.

1 service learner spot

Requirements:

• Background Check (e.g. fingerprinting/livescan, driving record)
• Driver's License
• Must be 18 or older
• Vaccinations