The core of my research is trying to understand the evolution of sensory systems using the unique cyclopean auditory system of praying mantises as a model system and also extending the studies to other insects. Two papers that best outline the work of the lab are Yager (1999) and Yager and Svenson (2008). We follow several parallel research themes: comparative studies, auditory system neurophysiology, sound-triggered behaviors, anatomy/development of auditory systems, and evolutionary bioacoustics. The primary technique used for evolutionary studies is comparisons among large numbers of species from different lineages and from different locations around the world. Thus, my lab's comparative work on tiger beetle auditory behavior and mantis ear phylogeny involved collecting animals/data from many sites in all continents except Antarctica.  In parallel neurophysiological studies, we analyzed neural responses to sounds in peripheral nerves and individual CNS neurons. We integrate those studies with our third parallel research effort focusing on behavioral experiments that examine the ways the auditory system enhances the fitness of the animals. Finally, we worked in the realm of evolutionary bioacoustics from both comparative and developmental perspectives. We used laser vibrometry and ultra-high resolution micro-CT scans to create 2D and 3D models that showed the functional anatomy of the mantis auditory system. A recent finding, for instance, is that even though mantises have only one ear, they may have as many as four eardrums.