Kelp Culture Technician

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Note: Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the Posting End Date.

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At UBC we believe that attracting and sustaining a diverse workforce is key to the successful pursuit of excellence in research innovation and learning for all faculty staff and students. Our commitment to employment equity helps achieve inclusion and fairness brings rich diversity to UBC as a workplace and creates the necessary conditions for a rewarding career.

Job Summary
This is a research technician (Tech 2) position in the UBC Department of Botany. This position will be responsible for maintaining and optimizing macroalgal cultures to support restoration and enhancement of bull kelp populations near Vancouver BC. Activities will include managing and maintaining existing bull kelp cultures conducting experiments on lab cultures and seeding tiles with bull kelp gametophytes for outplanting.

Organizational Status
The technician will report to the PI Dr. Patrick Martone (Professor UBC Botany).

Work Performed
Lab duties:

• Spore release and culture initiation

• Prepare and replace media in all cultures

• Re-fragmenting cultures to expand collection

• Observe inventory and report on the health of kelp culture library

• Microscopic culture inspection

• Contaminant identification and management

• Unialgal clone isolation

• Operate maintain and troubleshoot kelp culture equipment including incubators flumes tumble tanks and chillers

Lab experimental support:

• Conduct experiments on the response of kelp cultures to stress (temperature siltation salinity)

• Conduct experiments on culture density to improve outplanting success

• Conduct experiments on tile texture and shape to increase the survivorship and longevity of outplanted kelp in the field

• Summarize data to be reviewed by PI and kelp researchers

• Help support other researchers in ongoing culture experimentation

• Scrub tanks

• Macroscopic sporophyte culture inspection and maintenance

• Refine culture methods to increase capacity and efficiency

• Contaminant identification and management

• undefined

  Restoration:

  Help organize environmental data collected at site by field technicians (salinity light substrate temperature flow)

  Organize and seed tiles with gametophyte fragments for outplanting

  Support the preparation and transport of tiles for field work

  Coordinate with field technician to synchronize lab and field experimentation
  

Consequence of Error/Judgement
All work being done will be under close supervision by the PI Dr. Patrick Martone and all decisions about experimental procedures will be made in cohort with the PI Dr. Patrick Martone.

Supervision Received
The technician will work independently and as part of a team including external collaborators. Work will be overseen by the Principal Investigator with direct support provided by other lab researchers.

Supervision Given
None.

Minimum Qualifications
High school graduation some additional training in a related field and a minimum two years of related experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

- Willingness to respect diverse perspectives including perspectives in conflict with ones own

- Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing ones own awareness knowledge and skills related to equity diversity and inclusion

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in macroalgal cultivation or sterile culture techniques

• Experience developing and maintaining biological experiments