The SMSG team welcomed Ivy Johnson for a summer internship focussing on Red Listing of some newly described species, reassessments, and creating maps for the extinct species on the list! Hear from Ivy below:
SMSG Intern Ivy Johnson
“I’ve been doing a six week summer internship with the IUCN SSC Small Mammal Specialist Group, working on preparing drafts of Red List assessments with Ros Kennerley. It’s been really interesting to see how even with one or two sources an accurate assessment can be drawn up, allowing a species to be represented on the Red List.
My favourite species that I’ve worked on have been these woolly flying squirrels from the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau – they’re really big gliding squirrels and they’re genuinely the cutest thing (as well as some of them being under threat, and generally not well understood with more research being needed). I also did the draft assessment for the brown rat (Rattus norvegicus) though, and found it really rewarding to be able to update the maps for it.
I’ve just finished my first year studying Biology at university, and whilst I’m open to changing my mind, I’m hoping to end up in conservation. I think it’s a really interesting subject whilst also being worthwhile – not just considering the foundational science but the practical implications of biology in the modern world in order to benefit the global ecosystem.
It’s been a really interesting internship – and a massive thanks goes to Ros for organising everything, and correcting all my mistakes!“
Some of the species that Ivy has been working on are:
The newly described Fansipan Shrew Mole
The newly described Woolly Flying Squirrels
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