The role of nectar composition in plant-animal interactions

该奖项支持纽约州立大学弗里多尼亚分校生物系继续开展一项成功的本科生研究经验项目。该网站每年将通过让10名本科生参与者参与植物与昆虫相互作用的调查来促进他们的智力成长和情感发展。这项研究将集中在氨基酸在吸引昆虫种植花蜜方面所起的作用，以及花蜜衍生氨基酸在滋养花蜜饲养者方面的作用。该项目的参与者将收集植物蜜汁，观察昆虫的行为，对喂食不同含蜜食物的昆虫的脂肪和蛋白质成分进行生化分析，并测试将花蜜饮食与营养状态联系起来的假说。在这三年中的每一年，这个项目都将分为夏季和冬季两个部分。八个夏季周将提供一周的理论和方法介绍，三周的小组项目指导研究，以及四周的独立的、参与者发起的项目。在秋季学期，参与者将分析他们独立项目的结果。他们将于1月份返回弗雷多尼亚，届时他们将准备他们的项目的口头陈述，并在次年4月的东部大学科学会议上提交。这个项目的学生研究人员将通过：1)增加对生态学、行为学、进化论、生物化学和生理学的理解，2)具有特定领域和实验室研究技术的实践经验，3)批判性阅读和分析思维的实践，以及4)获得各种研究支持技能。所有这些成就将增强参与者的情感成熟度，有助于确定他们作为科学家的职业选择，在某些情况下，还会提高他们的抱负。

This award provides support to the Department of Biology at the State University of New York at Fredonia to continue a successful Research Experiences for Undergraduates program. The SITE will foster the intellectual growth and emotional development of 10 undergraduate participants per year by involving them in a investigation of plant-insect interactions. The research will focus on the role that amino acids play in attracting insects to plant nectars and on the role of nectar-derived amino acids in nourishing the nectar feeders. Participants in the project will collect plant nectars, observe insect behavior, biochemically analyze the lipid and protein components of insects fed different nectariferous diets, and test hypotheses that relate the nectar diet to nutritional status. In each of the three years, this project will be divided into two parts, summer and winter. The eight summer weeks will offer one week of introduction to theory and methods, three weeks of directed research on group projects, and four weeks of independent, participant-originated projects. During the fall semester, participants will analyze the results of their independent projects. They will return to Fredonia in January, when they will prepare oral presentations of their projects to be presented at the Eastern College Science Conference the following April. Student researchers in this project will develop through: 1) an increased understanding of ecology, behavior, evolution, biochemistry, and physiology, 2) hands-on experience with specific field and laboratory research techniques, 3) practice in critical reading and analytical thinking, and 4) acquisition of a variety of research support skills. All of these accomplishments will enhance the emotional maturity of participants, help define their career choices as scientists, and, in some cases, raise their aspirations.