Taxonomic and Adaptive Significance of Hollow Plant Organs
{'Code': '08010207', 'Directorate': {'LongName': 'Direct For Biological Sciences'}, 'Division': {'LongName': 'Division Of Environmental Biology'}}
{'SignBlockName': 'James E. Rodman'}
Plants of many species, in quite different lineages, are                   characterized by the regular production of hollow stems with                    septate nodes; bamboos are classical examples, as are horsetails                (the genus Equisetum).  Among species of the grass or bamboo                    family, hollow stems predominate over solid stems; among species                of the ancient horsetail family, all extant species produce                     hollow stems.  In order to examine the biomechanical properties                 of hollow stems, Dr. Karl Niklas of Cornell University will use                 an engineering technique known as multiple resonance frequency                  spectra (MRFS) analysis in the study of several species of                      horsetails and of grasses.  The mechanical rigidity, or flexural                rigidity, of stems is thought to be related to light-interception               and to reproduction (either spores or seeds borne on that stem).                At issue is the hypothesized trade-off between efficiency in                    construction (hollow stems presumed to be "cheaper"                             metabolically) and safety from breakage (solid stems presumed to                provide greater strength).  The mechanical properties of stems                  will be analyzed, and aspects of rigidity quantified and                        measured, in an array of species from the grass and horsetail                   families.  Common features of hollow-stem construction in these                 two phyletically distant groups of plants may well provide                      examples of convergent evolution.
{'FirstName': 'Karl', 'LastName': 'Niklas', 'EmailAddress': 'kjn2@cornell.edu', 'StartDate': '01/01/1989', 'EndDate': None, 'RoleCode': 'Principal Investigator'}
{'Name': 'Cornell Univ - State: AWDS MADE PRIOR MAY 2010', 'CityName': 'Ithica', 'ZipCode': '148502488', 'PhoneNumber': '6072555014', 'StreetAddress': '373 Pine Tree Road', 'CountryName': 'United States', 'StateName': 'New York', 'StateCode': 'NY'}
{'Code': '1127', 'Text': 'EVOLUTIONARY PROCESSES CLUSTER'}
{'url': 'https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/download?DownloadFileName=1988&All=true', 'xml': '8816827.xml'}