The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded a grant to Hamilton College for the support of a project under the direction of Associate Professor of Biology Herman K. Lehman, in collaboration with Gene E. Robinson of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, to study the neural basis behavior in honey bees.
The project, "Collaborative Research: Octopamine-Mediated Behavioral Development in Honey Bees-Social and Endocrine Regulation of Tyramine Beta-Hydroxylase," will look at the creation and release of a neurotransmitter (octopamine, OA) in specific brain regions of honey bees during development. Octopamine is thought to be vitally important for changes in honey bee behavioral development, e.g. from nurse bees to foragers. The researchers will also test the hypothesis that the increase in OA in the brains of foragers is caused by an increased activity of the enzyme tyramine beta-hydroxlyase.
The National Science Foundation funds research and education in science and engineering through grants, contacts and cooperative agreements to more than 2,000 colleges, universities and other research and/or educational institutions within the United States.
