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Our Agency at a Glance
ASHTON BIODIVERSITY RESEARCH & PRESERVATION INSTITUTE, INC. (ABR&PI)
ABR&PI is a Non-profit (501 3C) Foundation located at Ashton Biological Preserve in Archer, Florida. The institute specializes in projects related to biological and ecological aspects and sustainable use of biodiversity in the Florida and natural habitats worldwide.
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Gopher tortoises live in burrows that often reach down to the water table. Thus the depth may be 18 feet or more. Ashton Biological Preserve is on the Brooksville Ridge, a relic dune line and old sand ridge created when sea level was higher. Some tortoise burrows spiral, double back in a zig-zag and some just extend out and down. Burrows are carefully excavated. Ashton, Ashton & Associates, Inc. The Ashton's consulting firm works to create management plans, relocate tortoises when needed and helps developers get permits and create on-site preserves for protected species. This work helps to support the conservation efforts of the preserve.
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Internships:
Students in herpetology, botany, wildlife, forestry, conservation biology, ecology, zoology, entomology, marketing and PR, veterinary medicine, communications, recreation and tourism, environmental education and similar fields may find projects of interest with the Ashton Biodiversity Research & Preservation Institute, Inc. Full and part-time internships are available to qualified undergraduate or graduate students. Funding is extremely limited and is usually the responsibility of the student to acquire. Housing is available on a limited basis and students must provide their own transportation. Interns are encouraged to complete a project of interest in addition to gaining experience in a variety of areas and are given assistance with resume enhancement and networking.
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Intern taking the surface temperature
of a gopher tortoise.
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Click here for more information about internships
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Star tortoises practically disappear among the savannah grasses and we use a yellow lab to find them. She has been well trained and works each morning and evening to locate the tortoises if the weather is going to be too cold to leave them out of the barns overnight.
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Research:
Students interested in graduate or post-graduate research projects that have funding or are seeking funding can request a research application. Research projects may be carried out at Ashton Biological Preserve or off-site. Click here to read more about Research.
About The Institute:
Ashton Biodiversity Research & Preservation Institute, Inc. was founded in 1999 for the purpose of promoting, funding and operating research and preservation projects at Ashton Biological Preserve and selected locations worldwide.
About The Preserve:
Ashton Biological Preserve, also known as Finca de la Tortuga is a 200 acre preserve located on the Brooksville Ridge near the Watermelon Pond wetland complex west of Archer, Florida. The preserve includes well-equipped office, lab, library, herbarium, and wet-lab facilities, limited researcher/student housing, tortoise isolation and breeding facilities, and a diversity of native upland and wetland habitats. The preserve and surrounding natural habitats have an abundance of plant and vertebrate and invertebrate animal species including many protected species. Species of interest for various research projects include but are not limited to gopher tortoises, gother frogs, barking tree frogs, burrowing owls, fox squirrels, bald eagles, indigo snakes, insectivorous plants, and many invertebrate species. |
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