Dissertation Research: Phylogeny and Speciation in          Polygonella (Polygonaceae)
{'Code': '08010207', 'Directorate': {'Abbreviation': 'BIO', 'LongName': 'Direct For Biological Sciences'}, 'Division': {'Abbreviation': 'DEB', 'LongName': 'Division Of Environmental Biology'}}
{'SignBlockName': 'James E. Rodman'}
Graduate student Paul Lewis, under the supervision of Dr.                  Dan Crawford of Ohio State University, will study the taxonomy                  and genetic variability of 11 species of the genus Polygonella of               the southeastern United States.  In this genus several species                  appear to have evolved as isolated island-like populations                      during the warm periods between Pleistocene ice ages when                       glaciers melted.  The Florida Peninsula was submerged during                    these times with the exception of "islands" that represented the                highest land masses in the area.  Two species of Polygonella for                example are restricted to the Lake Wales ridge running down the                 center of the Florida peninsula, and other species may have                     dispersed from this endemic area.  The study will examine                       morphological variability within and among the species and also                 genetic variation of plants by measuring enzyme variation using                 electrophoresis.  Gene-characters detected by enzyme                            electrophoresis are likely to yield data useful for inferring                   evolutionary relationships among the species and for estimating                 aspects of breeding systems in these plants, which are known to                 be variable in sex expression.  Thus Polygonella provides an                    unusual opportunity to investigate past speciation events                       associated with Pleistocene island formation which may shed light               on the origin of many of Florida's endemic plants and animals.
[{'FirstName': 'Paul', 'LastName': 'Lewis', 'EmailAddress': 'paul.lewis@uconn.edu', 'StartDate': '11/01/1988', 'EndDate': None, 'RoleCode': 'Co-Principal Investigator'}, {'FirstName': 'Daniel', 'LastName': 'Crawford', 'EmailAddress': 'dcrawfor@ku.edu', 'StartDate': '11/01/1988', 'EndDate': None, 'RoleCode': 'Principal Investigator'}]
{'Name': 'Ohio State University Research Foundation -DO NOT USE', 'CityName': 'Columbus', 'ZipCode': '432101016', 'PhoneNumber': '6146888734', 'StreetAddress': '1960 KENNY RD', 'CountryName': 'United States', 'StateName': 'Ohio', 'StateCode': 'OH'}
{'Code': '1127', 'Text': 'Evolutionary Processes'}
{'url': 'https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/download?DownloadFileName=1988&All=true', 'xml': '8815346.xml'}