Dissertation Research: Impact of Environment on Plant       Susceptibility to Leaf-Cutter Ants
{'Code': '08010208', 'Directorate': {'Abbreviation': 'BIO', 'LongName': 'Direct For Biological Sciences'}, 'Division': {'Abbreviation': 'DEB', 'LongName': 'Division Of Environmental Biology'}}
{'SignBlockName': 'Althea Ball', 'PO_EMAI': None, 'PO_PHON': None}
The proposed studies investigate the impact of environmental               conditions on leaf quality and subsequent selection by leaf-                    cutter ants, Atta cephalotes, a dominant herbivore at the La                    Selva Biological Reserve in Costa Rica.  Specifically the                       interactions of light and soil nutrient conditions will be                      studied to see if plant susceptibility is altered via changes in                plant traits.  Leaves from both field collected plants and                      cultivated seedlings (started from the seeds of a single parent                 tree, so as to control for genotypic effects) growing under                     different environmental conditions will be used.  This study                    focuses on a tropical legume species, Inga edulis var. minitula,                because it commonly occurs in a range of habitats, appears to                   change in quality in response to different environmental                        conditions, and experiences Atta attack.                                             Field pickup and cutting bioassays, laboratory choice                      assays, and fungal inhibition assays will determine leaf                        acceptability and suitability to Atta.  Both correlative                        analyses and experiments will be used to isolate the impact of                  specific leaf traits on the ant/fungus system.  While previous                  research has been largely qualitative and interspecific, this                   study concentrates on the impact of quantitative                                intraspecific variation.  Since the ant/fungus system is easily                 manipulated both in the field and in the laboratory, it offers a                unique opportunity to quantify the effects of different                         environmentally induced leaf traits and to establish the                        mechanism behind leaf-cutter ant selectivity.
[{'FirstName': 'Colin', 'LastName': 'Orians', 'PI_MID_INIT': 'M', 'PI_SUFX_NAME': None, 'PI_FULL_NAME': 'Colin M Orians', 'EmailAddress': 'colin.orians@tufts.edu', 'NSF_ID': '000432703', 'StartDate': '12/01/1988', 'EndDate': None, 'RoleCode': 'Co-Principal Investigator'}, {'FirstName': 'Jack', 'LastName': 'Schultz', 'PI_MID_INIT': 'C', 'PI_SUFX_NAME': None, 'PI_FULL_NAME': 'Jack C Schultz', 'EmailAddress': 'John.Schultz@utoledo.edu', 'NSF_ID': '000299774', 'StartDate': '12/01/1988', 'EndDate': None, 'RoleCode': 'Principal Investigator'}]
{'Name': 'Pennsylvania State Univ University Park', 'CityName': 'UNIVERSITY PARK', 'ZipCode': '168021503', 'PhoneNumber': '8148651372', 'StreetAddress': '201 OLD MAIN', 'StreetAddress2': None, 'CountryName': 'United States', 'StateName': 'Pennsylvania', 'StateCode': 'PA', 'CONGRESSDISTRICT': '15', 'CONGRESS_DISTRICT_ORG': 'PA15', 'ORG_UEI_NUM': 'NPM2J7MSCF61', 'ORG_LGL_BUS_NAME': 'THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE 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': '112800', 'Text': 'Population & Community Ecology'}
{'url': 'https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/download?DownloadFileName=1988&All=true', 'xml': '8815648.xml'}