September 19, 2006
Director of Media Relations
413/542-8417
AMHERST, Mass.—Ethan J. Temeles, associate professor of biology at Amherst College, has received a grant of $240,000 from the National Science Foundation for a research project titled “Coevolutionary Convergence and Displacement Across a Geographic Mosaic: Hummingbirds and Heliconias of the Lesser Antilles.”
In this four-year project, a collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution, Temeles will examine mechanisms of plant-pollinator specialization. The work involves field studies of hummingbird foraging behavior and natural selection on floral traits, and laboratory and field studies of gene flow between plant populations. Field work on the islands of Dominica, St. Vincent, Tobago and Grenada will offer many opportunities for Amherst College students to participate. For more information, please visit professor Temeles’ website.
The National Science Foundation is an independent U.S. government agency responsible for promoting science and engineering through programs that invest more than $3 billion a year in almost 20,000 research and education projects. Amherst College is currently using more than $2 million in such grants.
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