Master Thesis

Topic: Revealing the Hidden World of Nocturnal Pollinators through AI-enabled camera traps

Contract limitations

limited contract

Contact

Your contact for any questions you may have about the job:
Maximilian Sittinger, maximilian.sittinger@idiv.de

Your application

Please submit your application via our online portal with your cover letter, CV (please omit your photo, age, or marital status) and relevant attachments.

Diversity and Inclusion

The UFZ has a strong commitment to diversity and actively supports equal opportunities for all employees regardless of their origin, religion, ideology, disability, age or sexual identity.
We look forward to applications from people who are open-minded and enjoy working in diverse teams.

The UFZ

The Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) with its 1,100 employees has gained an excellent reputation as an international competence centre for environmental sciences. We are part of the largest scientific organisation in Germany, the Helmholtz association. Our mission: Our research seeks to find a balance between social development and the long-term protection of our natural resources.

Your tasks

In this Master’s thesis, you will modify an existing open-source DIY camera trap to enable nocturnal monitoring of plant-pollinator interactions. You will test these DIY camera traps in a field study within Leipzig city. The tasks include:

  • Development of software and hardware components for an Raspberry Pi-based automated camera trap that can capture nocturnal plant-pollinator interactions
  • Testing the DIY camera traps in a dark lab and at night in field settings, including staying in the field during late hours to evaluate the equipment
  • Field data collection of plant-pollinator interactions using the developed camera traps, as well as traditional methods (e.g. Flower-Insect Timed Count)
  • Optional: Microscopy work to identify captured nocturnal pollinators
  • Data processing, annotation, and AI classification of captured images based on already established workflows
  • Data analysis

We offer

  • Excellent supervision that supports your personal and professional development
  • Exciting insights into the work of a leading research institute
  • The chance to work in interdisciplinary, international teams and benefit from a wide range of perspectives
  • The opportunity to contribute and actively shape your own ideas and impulses
    right from the start
  • Modern technical equipment and IT service to optimally support your work

Your profile

  • Background in Computer Science, Bioinformatics, Biology, Ecology, or a related field with a passion for and experience working with microcomputers such as Raspberry Pis
  • Basic programming skills in Python
  • Experience or interest in pollination ecology and insect classification is a plus
  • Experience with R is a plus
  • Fluency in spoken and written English
  • Willingness to conduct fieldwork during nighttime in a secure location, including staying up late

Apply now

Application deadline: 20.11.2024

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