I sat down with Jessica Rim (senior, psychology and math studies) to discuss her Honors research project and her experience at Andrews.
Where did you get the inspiration for your research?
As a freshman, I was interested in neurobiology and applied to do research at the Biology Department. After learning about the variety of possible projects in the cricket lab, I decided to focus on recording the neural activity of the L3 auditory neuron in the house cricket Acheta domesticus. However, after numerous failed attempts to take a clear recording of the L3, I decided to change my project to observing cricket behavior, particularly the effect of male exposure on female crickets. This second project is a continuation of previous research conducted in the cricket lab, but I was also inspired by my first project to continue investigating the L3 and how it is affected by male exposure.
Give us a brief overview of what your project is about.
My project examines whether female crickets change their responsiveness to different types of male cricket mating calls and whether there are modifications in the L3, based on behavior. Female crickets can vary in how picky they are towards the number and types of calls they respond to, due to a multitude of factors including age and temperature. The effect of male exposure (which involved placing female crickets and male crickets near each other but not allowing them to mate) was found in previous Honors research to be another factor that affects how female crickets respond to mating calls. For my project specifically, I not only attempted to corroborate past results but also see whether the L3 neuron (which plays a key role in how females respond to the mating calls) was affected by male exposure.
What was your research process (what type of things did you do)?
In order to expose female crickets to male crickets, females and males were placed in a plastic container with a perforated divider in between so that females and males could see, hear, and smell each other but be unable to mate. Then, I took exposed females after a few days and placed them on a treadmill that consisted of a styrofoam ball with air pushing it upwards. The crickets were held in place by using a piece of wire attached to their backs with melted wax. Using computer software, I played different mating calls and tracked the movement of the cricket as it ran on top of the treadmill. If it went towards the source of sound, I recorded that the female exhibited positive phonotaxis (movement toward a sound) and therefore found the particular call being played attractive. I also changed the level of loudness after playing a round of different calls so that I could compare the behavior at below and above L3’s threshold and infer whether the L3 was affected by male exposure. The data were then analyzed based on the number of calls that females responded to, with comparisons between unexposed and male-exposed females at different sound loudness levels.
What did you enjoy about the research while you were doing it?
Learning new procedures and becoming fluent in the project I undertook were some of the most enjoyable aspects of my research. I learned how to remove a portion of the cricket exoskeleton and use an electrode to record the L3, as well as how best to attach a cricket to a piece of wire with wax so that it does not escape while running on the treadmill. While reiterating the goals of my project and making connections between my project and past research, I also obtained more confidence in presenting my research to others. The amount of improvement I had made in these areas gave me a sense of accomplishment and pride in the skills that I had cultivated, which was a major source of motivation as I was doing research.
What are some drawbacks you experienced or something you didn’t enjoy during the process?
When I first started working with crickets, it was difficult to remain calm if they jumped as I tried to catch them or wriggled ferociously out of my hands. This was definitely something I thought I would never get accustomed to at the beginning of my research, and I would dread having to overcome this hurdle every time I tested a cricket. It was also disappointing when I was unable to take clear recordings of the L3 neuron and decided to switch my project to focus on behavior. However, as much as I did not enjoy these drawbacks when I first encountered them, they were important points for growth that I appreciate in hindsight. After all, I not only gained knowledge from my previous project that was helpful for my current one, but I also became skilled at rapidly capturing skittish critters without flinching.
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