Adam Martinez grew up collecting bugs, but his enthusiasm really peaked after taking the Biology of Insects course at OSU. After the course, he began volunteering with Dr. Chris Marshall in the Oregon State Arthropod Collection (OSAC). His initial project was working to enhance the collection of cicadas, his favorite insect group. During this time, OSAC acquired a high-resolution microscope-camera system similar to those used in forensics applications. Adam applied for and received an OSU DeLoach Work Scholarship, to produced high resolution images of an assortment of Pacific Northwest insects. These images and others he took were the first ones added to the OSAC website as a new identification resource for researchers.
Following this success, Adam received summer support from a National Science Foundation grant to generate digital resources for researchers working with insects at the H. J. Andrews Experimental Forest. Adam took multiple high-resolution images of specimens for each of the 99 species of ground beetle (Carabidae) currently known to live at H. J. Andrews and complemented them with taxonomic and natural history information. The information is being integrated into webpages that will be available to scientists, conservationists and the general public who want to identify or study these species.
Adam had the following to say about his experience at OSU and working on OSAC projects:
"Insects are amazing and you really get that when you can look at them closely. When you photograph a seemingly uninteresting beetle that is 2mm long and blow it up to the size of your body and find that it has monstrous jaws used for hunting smaller prey, it really makes you relieved to be a million times bigger than they are. Through this project I have learned how to identify and take stunning photographs of insects. In the future when the images are posted online, insect identification for field entomologists will literally be a click away. With each photo I realize how much more of the world that I don't see on a daily basis and it only makes me want to see more. Students often don't realize that there are opportunities like this one on campus, but if they show genuine interest in a subject like I did, their instructors will often take notice and try to help them like Dr. Marshall has helped me."
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