Grants supporting the Orthoptera Species File

The OSF grants committee received and evaluated fourteen proposals by applicants from ten countries (Brazil, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Germany, Italy, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Turkey, USA, Uzbekistan). Eight proposals listed below were funded. These have been selected based on the amount of data (images, specimen records, and sounds) expected to be added to the Orthoptera Species File. Also considered was the candidates’ expertise, if the proposal was related to a taxonomic research project, and the adequate budget

Projects funded for 2024

1. Chobanov, Dragan (Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgaria).
   Title: Orthoptera of the mountains and deserts of the Western and Central Palearctic

2. Fianco, Marcos (Federal University of Paraná, Brazil)
   Title: The Tettigoniidae from Caatinga: inventory of katydids from neglected Brazilian semi-arid region

3. Manori Goonatilake (Department of National Museums, Colombo, Sri Lanka)
   Title: Monograph for the Orthoptera of Sri Lanka: Digitization of Orthoptera type & non-type specimens deposited in the Department of National Museums, Sri Lanka.

4. Mariño-Pérez Ricardo (Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan, USA).
   Title: Capitalize TaxonWorks in under-collected areas: Bioko Island in Equatorial Guinea and Lobéké National Park in Cameroon.

5. Santos Martins Silva, Daniela (Miami University, Oxford, OH, USA).
   Title: Grasshoppers from Brazil: Photographic database of underrepresented taxa

6. Siqueira, Adriano (Museu Nacional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil).
   Title: Expedition on the unexplored Gryllacrididae fauna (Ensifera: Stenopelmatoidea) of the Fluminense Atlantic Forest, Rio de Janeiro: updating the OSF online catalog.

7. Tarekegn Fite Duressa. (Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Karlsruhe, Germany).
   Title: Photographic database of the unexplored African pygmy grasshoppers (Orthoptera: Tetrigidae) from Ethiopia: Specimens deposited in the Staatliches useum für Naturkunde Karlsruhe and Natural History Museum Stuttgart, Germany

8. Zahid Sundus. Fatima (Tuz Zohra School and Post Graduate College Mansehra, Pakistan).
   Title: Preserving history: digitalizing Orthoptera type specimens at Natural History Museum (NHM), London

Grant application guidelines

The Orthopterists’ Society in cooperation with the Illinois Natural History Survey provides funding for work in support of the Orthoptera Species File. Members of the Orthopterists’ Society are invited to apply. Applications should be sent to María Marta Cigliano (ciglianofcnymunlpeduar).

Grants are available for a project as defined by the applicant. The project must involve benefit to the Orthoptera Species File. The usual benefit is the addition of images (photographs of the habitus and diagnostic details of type specimens, other reliably identified museum specimens, living individuals in natural habitats), sound recordings, and/or geo-referenced specimen records. Any proposal that solely focuses on fieldwork or other systematic research without direct benefits to OSF will not be considered. Projects may be proposed for periods of one to three years.

Funding availability for 2024 will be announced in October 2024.

The proposals should include:

1. Project description (not more than five pages): Title Significance (highlighting the new data that will be added to OSF, preferably to taxa currently lacking images, sound recordings, distribution records, etc.) Objectives, methods and activities Timetable
2. If applicable, provide summary of the research project related to the proposal
3. Curriculum vitae
4. Budget in US$ (including justification of trips to museums, fieldwork, photographic equipment)
5. If applicable, provide letter of agreement/acknowledgement to work with the collection from the corresponding institution/curator including permission to add the images to OSF.

Preference will be given in relation to the amount of data added into OSF, i.e. the expected contribution to the considered taxa (dependent on already existing data). A detailed list of the species that are poorly illustrated in OSF and the data that is expected to be added as a result of the grant is highly recommended to be included in the proposal. Proposals involving images and sound recordings taken in the field will be funded depending on the “biogeographical value”, i.e. surveys in under-collected areas will be preferred over similar activities in well-worked terrain. Preference will be also

given to applicants who demonstrate knowledge of the taxa involved. The methods, e.g., techniques for capturing images, will be likewise considered in the evaluation. Also, priority will be given to applicants planning to document and photograph the types of Orthoptera species not yet documented by images in OSF, or who are planning to document the types from museums or other collections not easily accessible to researchers. Applications of curators for support of a qualified student to do this under his supervision will also be considered

Important: A short financial and tasks report will be required from each grantee once the funding period is finished. The tasks report will be in a format suitable for publishing in Metaleptea.

If the candidate has received an OSF grant in a previous year, the tasks from the previous grant have to be finished and the report approved by the OSF Committee before applying for a new grant