The Evolution and Maintenance of Mutualism Between          Lycaenid Butterflies and Ants
{'Code': '08010208', 'Directorate': {'Abbreviation': 'BIO', 'LongName': 'Direct For Biological Sciences'}, 'Division': {'Abbreviation': 'DEB', 'LongName': 'Division Of Environmental Biology'}}
{'SignBlockName': 'Althea Ball', 'PO_EMAI': 'aball@nsf.gov', 'PO_PHON': '7032920000'}
Dr. Naomi Pierce of Princeton University proposes an intriguing                 approach to quantifying various selection forces that drive the                 evolution of mutalisms in living organisms.                                                                                                                     This research will identify selective forces shaping the                        evolution of mutualism between lycaenid larvae and ants, and                    behavioral and biochemical mechanisms maintaining the                           association.  The first part of the project will measure the                    benefits that ants (Iridomyremes anceps and I. rufoniger) receive               from tending larvae of Jalmenus evagoras in terms of colony                     growth rate and investment into reproductive brood.  It will also               investigate the importance of individual variation in                           attractiveness to ants of larvae of J. evagoras that live in                    aggregations.  The second part of the project will consider some                of the causal mechanisms maintaining the association by first                   testing the oviposition behavior of females of J. evagoras on                   host plants that vary in their nitrogen content.  The main                      emphasis of this side of the research, however, will be in using                ant bioassays and biochemical analyses to learn more about the                  nature of the secretions of lycaenid larvae.  Of particular                     interest will be identifying the chemical cues involved in                      species specific recognition between larvae and their attendant                 ants.  To do this, Dr. Pierce will compare the secretions of each               species in the genus that associates with a particular species of               ant.  She will also determine whether the amino acid profiles                   secreted by different species of Jalmenus reflect the dietary                   preferences of their attendant ants.  And finally, she will                     examine whether the epidermal secretions of lycaenid larvae mimic               in any way the surface secretions of the brood of their attendant               ants.                                                                                                                                                           These studies should add significantly to our understanding of                  interdependent organism associations and to our perspective on                  general evolution.
[{'FirstName': 'Martin', 'LastName': 'Kreitman', 'PI_MID_INIT': 'E', 'PI_SUFX_NAME': None, 'PI_FULL_NAME': 'Martin E Kreitman', 'EmailAddress': 'mkre@midway.uchicago.edu', 'NSF_ID': '000156959', 'StartDate': '08/01/1987', 'EndDate': None, 'RoleCode': 'Principal Investigator'}, {'FirstName': 'Jeffry', 'LastName': 'Stock', 'PI_MID_INIT': 'B', 'PI_SUFX_NAME': None, 'PI_FULL_NAME': 'Jeffry B Stock', 'EmailAddress': 'jstock@molbio.princeton.edu', 'NSF_ID': '000228977', 'StartDate': '08/01/1987', 'EndDate': None, 'RoleCode': 'Co-Principal Investigator'}]
{'Name': 'Princeton University', 'CityName': 'PRINCETON', 'ZipCode': '085442001', 'PhoneNumber': '6092583090', 'StreetAddress': '1 NASSAU HALL', 'StreetAddress2': None, 'CountryName': 'United States', 'StateName': 'New Jersey', 'StateCode': 'NJ', 'CONGRESSDISTRICT': '12', 'CONGRESS_DISTRICT_ORG': 'NJ12', 'ORG_UEI_NUM': 'NJ1YPQXQG7U5', 'ORG_LGL_BUS_NAME': 'THE TRUSTEES OF PRINCETON UNIVERSITY', 'ORG_PRNT_UEI_NUM': None}
{'Name': None, 'CityName': None, 'StateCode': None, 'ZipCode': None, 'StreetAddress': None, 'CountryCode': None, 'CountryName': None, 'StateName': None, 'CountryFlag': None, 'CONGRESSDISTRICT': None, 'CONGRESS_DISTRICT_PERF': '""'}
{'Code': '1128', 'Text': 'Population & Community Ecology'}
{'url': 'https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/download?DownloadFileName=1987&All=true', 'xml': '8705483.xml'}