Kelp Restoration Technician (Tech 1)

Staff – Union

Job Category
CUPE 116

Job Profile
CUPE 116 Salaried – Research Assistant /Technician 1

Job Title
Kelp Restoration Technician (Tech 1)

Department
Research jobsincanada.one Martone Lab jobsincanada.one Department of Botany jobsincanada.one Faculty of Science

Compensation Range
$4,026.00 – $4,223.00 CAD Monthly

Posting End Date
April 24, 2023

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

Job End Date

Jun 1, 2024

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 1) 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 clone selection experiments, 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

• Making and changing culture media

• Re-fragmenting cultures to expand collection

• Ongoing inventory of culture library

• Microscopic culture inspection

• Contaminant identification and management

• Unialgal clone isolation

Lab experimental support:

• Measure nutrient uptake

• Clone selection under stress (temperature, siltation, salinity, etc)

• Scrub tanks

• Macroscopic sporophyte culture inspection and maintenance

• Optimize culture conditions for growth

• Contaminant identification and management

• Experiment with ideal tile size/texture/orientation for kelp recruitment

Restoration:

• Record environmental parameters at site (salinity, light, substrate, temperature, flow)

• Collect and analyze water samples from site

• Create tiles for outplanting

• Seed tiles with gametophyte fragments

• Deploy tiles at site

• Monitor growth and reproductive status of kelps in field

Consequence of Error/Judgement
All work being done will be under close supervision by the Principle Investigator, and all decisions about experimental procedures will be made in cohort with the Principle Investigator.
Supervision Received
The technician will work independently and as part of a team, including external collaborators. Work will be overseen by the Principle Investigator with direct support provided by other lab researchers.
Supervision Given
None.
Minimum Qualifications
High school graduation and a minimum one year of related experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

• Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one’s own

• Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one’s own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion

Preferred Qualification

• BSc in biology or equivalent level of experience

• Demonstrated knowledge of phycology (algae) 

• Experience working in a biological laboratory 

• Demonstrated ability to work independently and as part of a team

• Strong analytical and communication skills

• Experience in macroalgal cultivation or sterile culture techniques

• Experience developing and maintaining biological experiments