MBNMS Research Internships

Research Internship #1: Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary office in Monterey, CA (with hybrid options)

Kelp Research Intern
Deadline to Apply: May 15, 2025

Location: Hybrid; in-person and virtual
Supervising Mentors: Dr. Steve Lonhart (for kelp) & Dr. Andrew DeVogelaere (for corals), research ecologists for NOAA’s Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Internship Summary: Supporting implementation of the MBNMS Iconic Kelp Action Plan with image, video, and text updates to web sites, and development of a deep-sea web story.
Internship Duration: June 2 – August 29, 2025 (12 weeks)
Time Commitment: ~20 hours/week (can vary per week to reach total hours)
Total Stipend Amount: $6,500 for 260 hours total

The National Marine Sanctuary Foundation is offering an internship opportunity to support the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS) Iconic Kelp Action Plan by adding images, video and text to the SIMoN web site (sanctuarysimon.org). The addition of new material to this web site is focused on integration with a web-enabled sanctuary Condition Report, which displays status and trend data for a series of monitoring programs within MBNMS. The project will also provide information to the public and resource managers on kelp research, monitoring, and restoration. A secondary project, under the guidance of Dr. Andrew DeVogelaere, is to develop a deep-sea coral web story.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

Enter imagery taken by MBNMS staff into the SIMoN Photo Library
Write and enter text describing species in the SIMoN Species Database
Learn and then use a web-based interface to add status and trends information into a web enabled sanctuary Condition Report
Develop a concept and write a web story on deep-sea coral studies at Sur Ridge

Knowledge and Skills Needed:

An ability to identify central California kelp forest species
An interest in populating web sites with scientific information
An interest in learning to use web interface systems
Experience in scientific writing

How To Apply:

Email your cover letter (pdf) and resume (pdf) to steve.lonhart@noaa.gov and erica.burton@noaa.gov with the subject line: “MBNMSF Kelp Action Plan Internship”

Please download this PDF (391K) for more information

Deadline to Apply: May 15, 2025

Please see below for a list of internships in the Monterey Bay area: