By SORTEE | August 22, 2022
[SORTEE member voices is a weekly Q&A with a different SORTEE member]
Name: Adrienne Antonsen.
Date: 11 July 2021.
Position: Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle Response Survey Field Lead.
Research and/or work interests: Entomology; ecology; conservation; insect-plant interactions.
How did you become interested in open research?
The difficulty of accessing peer-reviewed articles without a university affiliation in the period between undergrad and grad school was very frustrating to me. The general public should always be allowed to access and read about past and emerging research at any time. The ability of scientific research to impact the world is severely limited if only a select cohort of people are allowed to know the findings.
What do you see as the greatest challenge facing the open / reliable / transparent science movement at large or specifically in ecology and evolutionary biology?
Researchers feeling the need or entitlement to withhold data from interested parties if those parties didn’t provide funding for the research.
If you could start your career over again, but had to switch to another field or subdiscipline, what would you switch to? Why?
An acrobat! The feeling of mastering a strength and agility intensive maneuver is incredible, and if I were able to devote myself full time to the practice I know I could advance far more than I’ll be able to as a hobby.
What was your most embarrassing field work moment?
Unknowingly standing over a fire ant nest in Southern Arizona, then stripping my pants off and running away crying in front of my new boss after hundreds of them started crawling up and biting my legs.
Where to find you online?:
Instagram: @bugtype
