The Cricket Course 2025
***Applications close on March 31, 2025***
We are excited to offer the second iteration of the CRICKET COURSE from June 29-July 7, 2025, at the Soltis Center for Research and Education in Costa Rica!
Why Ensifera?: Among all animals, insects show unparalleled diversity in hearing and sound production. Of all insects, the orthopteran suborder Ensifera includes more than 15,000 described species of familiar singing insects such as crickets and katydids, 85% of which are known to have specialized tympanal ears located on front tibiae and stridulatory (vibration-producing) apparatus on male tegmina (forewings). It is the most species-rich lineage using acoustic signals as a main mode of communication. Singing ensiferans are found worldwide and show enormous variation in life history and morphology. They have correspondingly diverse forms and mechanisms of hearing and singing. The coevolutionary dynamics of hearing and sound production are thought to have been a core driver of diversification in this lineage. But, not all ensiferans can hear and sing. For example, many wingless cricket species are known to have independently lost tibial ears, and there are nearly 2,000 ensiferan species other than crickets and katydids that do not possess ears and stridulatory tegmina, but instead have a stridulatory file on their abdomen for defensive signaling, or use alternative forms of intraspecific communication such as abdominal drumming and substrate vibration. Therefore, Ensifera is an ideal group to investigate how acoustic communication has evolved.
Rationale for a new course: Although katydids, crickets, and allies represent an excellent model system for ecology, behavior, physiology, bioacoustics, and evolutionary biology, there is currently no platform in North America to provide structured training on these insects. As part of the National Science Foundation grant titled "NSFDEB-NERC: Multidisciplinary approach to bioacoustics: Integrating phylogenomics, biophysics, and functional genomics to unravel the evolution of hearing and singing in katydids, crickets, and allies" (DEB-1937815), we have assembled a team of currently active specialists to create and offer a unique workshop called "THE CRICKET COURSE.” We offered the first iteration of this course in 2023 at Archbold Biological Station in Florida, and we are excited to offer the second iteration of this course in beautiful and biodiverse Costa Rica. This 7-day workshop is targeted towards students, amateur naturalists, museum scientists, ecologists, and evolutionary biologists in order to provide hands-on training in identification, ecology, behavior, and bioacoustics of these amazing insects. The course will include lectures on taxonomy, phylogeny, biology, bioacoustics, and ecology of Ensifera, instructor-led collecting expeditions taking advantage of the diverse habitats found in Costa Rica, exercises on taxonomic identification, specimen preservation, field observation, and sound recording and analysis.
Organizing institutions and sponsors: The Song Laboratory of Insect Systematics and Evolution in the Department of Entomology at Texas A&M University, National Science Foundation, and Soltis Center for Research and Education.
Venue: THE CRICKET COURSE will take place at the Soltis Center for Research and Education in Costa Rica, which is a biological field station owned and operated by Texas A&M University. It is in the Central Volcanic Range of Costa Rica and is part of the well-known Monteverde Cloud Forests located toward the northwestern part of the range. The forests at the Soltis Center are classified as a tropical mid-elevation rain forest (450 to 700 meters above sea level). It is part of the biological corridor Las Nubes, that connects most of the cloud forests along the Tilaran and Central Volcanic Range. Of course, it is home to numerous orthopterans, which makes the Soltis Center a perfect place to learn about crickets and katydids.
Participant Acceptance Criteria: THE CRICKET COURSE is open to all interested individuals (professionals, motivated amateurs, such as citizen/community scientists, undergraduate and graduate students, postdocs, and professors). Priority is given to applicants currently interested crickets, katydids, or other orthopterans and to those biologists for whom the course will have a significant impact on their research and/or teaching. An entomological background is not required. We aim to include students with interests and experiences in biology, including systematics, evolution, ecology, bioacoustics, and conservation. THE CRICKET COURSE is presented in English and is limited to 15 participants.
Cost: The CRICKET COURSE in Costa Rica is supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation grant, which will cover meals, lodging, station fees, and local transportation for field trips for all accepted participants (U.S. citizens or permanent residents only). For foreign (non-U.S.) participants, the cost is $650 per person. All participants are responsible for their own transportation costs between their homes and San Jose Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO). We will provide transportation from the airport to the Soltis Center.
Learning outcome: THE CRICKET COURSE has the following learning outcomes. Upon completing the course successfully, students will be able to:
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Correctly describe phylogenetic relationships among major orthopteran lineages and morphological traits defining each group
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Correctly identify ensiferan genera and selected species of Costa Rica using diagnostic characters and identification keys
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Properly collect, preserve, and curate orthopteran insects using various methods
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Record songs using standard equipment and analyze them using bioacoustics software
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Comfortably use online tools for Orthoptera identification, natural history, and scientific communication
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Place the study of Ensifera into broader research fields such as animal behavior, neuroethology, or speciation
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Apply theories and practices in bioacoustics research to ensiferan insects of choice
To apply: Please use this Google Form. The deadline for application is March 31, 2025.
2025 Instructors:
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Dr. Hojun SongProfessor, Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University Email: hsong@tamu.edu Expertise: Phylogeny and taxonomy of Orthoptera, locust biology, molecular systematics, phenotypic plasticity Website: https://schistocerca.org/SongLab |
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Brandon WooPhD Student, Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University Email: bmw95@tamu.edu Expertise: Orthoptera of North America, Tridactylidae systematics, Florida scrub ecology, insect macrophotography, iNaturalist Website: iNaturalist |
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Dr. Fernando Montealegre-ZProfessor, School of Life Sciences, University of Lincoln, U.K. Email: fmontealegrez@lincoln.ac.uk Expertise: Biomechanics and physiology of structures specialized for the reception and production of ultrasound sound, evolution of acoustic communication, Orthopteran bioacoustics |
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Dr. Nathan BaileyProfessor, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, U.K. Email: nwb3@st-andrews.ac.uk Expertise: Evolution, developmental genomics, phenotypic plasticity, bioacoustics, Teleogryllus oceanicus system Website: http://www.flexiblephenotype.org/ |
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Dr. Piotr NaskreckiDirector, E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Laboratory at Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique Email: pluviasilva@gmail.com Expertise: Biodiversity, conservation, taxonomy, insect photography Website: https://thesmallermajority.com/ |
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