Taxon-Immersion Courses: Sustaining and Inspiring Arthropod Diversity Science

Organizer(s)

• 

  Jason Williams

  Graduate Student/Teaching Assistant
  University of Florida
  Gainesville, Florida
• 

  Marek Borowiec (he/him/his)

  Assistant Professor
  Colorado State University
  Fort Collins, Colorado
• 

  Andrea Lucky

  Associate Professor
  Department of Entomology and Nematology
  University of Florida
  Gainesville, Florida

Short courses, especially field courses, provide unparalleled immersion experiences for students studying arthropod diversity. This symposium brings together course organizers to highlight what makes taxon courses not just good, but great. Key issues include successful course promotion, securing sustainable support, and building safety, accessibility, diversity, and inclusion into all courses.

Presentations:

• 1:30 PM – 1:35 PM MST

  Introductory remarks
  

  Presenting Author: Andrea Lucky – University of Florida
• 1:35 PM – 1:50 PM MST

  The Bee Course: The past, present and future of a flagship course on wild bees
  

  Presenting Author: Bryan N. Danforth – Cornell University
• 1:50 PM – 2:05 PM MST

  How to make a taxon-immersion course count: Key components of the intensive three-day Invasive Ant Boot Camp
  

  Presenting Author: Andrea Lucky – University of Florida

  Co-Author: Jason Lee Williams – University of Florida
• 2:05 PM – 2:20 PM MST

  Ant course: Fostering the training and transcultural collaboration of the next generation of ant scientists
  

  Presenting Author: Brian Lee Fisher (he/him/his) – California Academy of Sciences
• 2:20 PM – 2:35 PM MST

  With the powers of biocontrol and taxonomy combined…. Trissolcus ID workshops
  

  Presenting Author: Elijah Talamas – Florida State Collection of Arthropods

  Co-author: Kim Alan Hoelmer – USDA-ARS

  Co-author: Matthew Buffington – USDA-ARS
• 2:35 PM – 2:45 PM MST

  Break
• 2:45 PM – 3:00 PM MST

  Effective strategies for integrating field safety into your insect diversity course
  

  Presenting Author: Robin M. Verble (she/her/hers) – Missouri University of Science and Technology
• 3:00 PM – 3:15 PM MST

  Heteroptera immersion abroad and at home: Lessons learned from the “Biodiversity of True Bugs” short courses
  

  Presenting Author: Christiane Weirauch – University of California
• 3:15 PM – 3:30 PM MST

  Cricket course: Hands-on training in Ensifera identification, ecology, behavior, and bioacoustics
  

  Presenting Author: Hojun Song – Texas A&M University
• 3:30 PM – 3:45 PM MST

  The Bark Beetle Academy and bark & ambrosia beetle taxonomy training
  

  Presenting Author: Sarah Smith – Michigan State University

  Co-Author: Jiri Hulcr – University of Florida

  Co-Author: Marc F. DiGirolomo – USDA-Forest Service

  Co-Author: Robert J. Rabagalia – Maryland Department of Agriculture

  Co-Author: E. R. Hoebeke – University of Georgia
• 3:45 PM – 4:00 PM MST

  Discussion
• 4:00 PM – 4:05 PM MST

  Closing remarks
  

  Presenting Author: Andrea Lucky – University of Florida