Research Internships
The Urban Wildlife Institute offers opportunities for aspiring biologists to gain valuable experience in a rigorous scientific environment and take part in a long-term monitoring program.
Using Lincoln Park Zoo’s diverse scientific specialties, the Urban Wildlife Institute studies the interaction between urban development and the natural ecosystem to develop scientific standards for minimizing conflict between them. Landscape ecology, population biology, animal behavior, epidemiology, endocrinology, veterinary medicine, and other core disciplines contribute to an increased understanding of the urban ecosystem. The Urban Wildlife Institute aims to use Chicago as a model for urban areas struggling to deal with wildlife relocation, rehabilitation, disease, and conflicts. UWI also houses the Davee Program in Urban Disease Ecology.
Since 2010, monitoring stations from the city to the suburbs have helped scientists chronicle the urban ecosystem of the Chicago region. Largely focused on terrestrial mammals and bats, this long-term, unprecedented monitoring effort has included birds, ticks, small mammals, arthropods, and vegetation surveys—all made possible by collaborations with scientists and landowners.
The Urban Wildlife Institute focuses, in part, on the transmission of disease from animals to humans—another byproduct of urban sprawl. By studying how people and animals interact in an urban setting, the Urban Wildlife Institute can help scientists better understand—and curb—zoonotic diseases, such as West Nile virus, rabies, and avian influenza.
The Urban Wildlife Institute is forming partnerships with local nature and conservation organizations to conduct pilot studies on ecosystem health and human-wildlife interaction. By developing standards for managing urban wildlife, the institute is creating a conflict-management model that can be followed worldwide.
Urban wildlife live in every city around the world. Even though the Urban Wildlife Institute collects data in the heart of Chicago, its scientists aim to help humans and animals coexist worldwide. To that end, the institute founded the Urban Wildlife Information Network (UWIN) to help researchers, architects, city planners, and others across the planet collect data to build wildlife-friendly cities.
The Urban Wildlife Institute offers opportunities for aspiring biologists to gain valuable experience in a rigorous scientific environment and take part in a long-term monitoring program.