Dr. Pete VanZandt, associate professor of biology, has received a $25,000 grant towards his documentation of nocturnal pollinators of central Alabama. The research has been funded by Section 6 of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

With 11 years of experience studying moths of central Alabama (and rightful ownership of his @mothapostle handle on Twitter) VanZandt continues this research topic with the grant. Moths are recognized as important pollinators, and there are more than 12,000 species of moths in North America, but they can be difficult to examine. VanZandt aims to find better ways to record their behavior.

“The problem is that moths are mostly active at night, so people don’t really know which species pollinate which plants,” VanZandt says. “I’m working with a pair of professional photographers using a night-vision videography setup that we hope will help people better study the moths that visit flowers at night.”

Photographers John and Kendra Abbott of Abbott Nature Photography also bring an expertise in insects to the project. They are both professional nature photographers and just recently published a field guide to Texas insects.

As part of the grant, VanZandt will examine the pollinators of native plants to Alabama and the Southeast, some of which are endangered. With the Abbotts, he is currently studying the pollinators of Marshallia mohrii (common name Mohr’s Barbara’s buttons.) In the future, the team plans to use the equipment to document the daytime and nighttime pollinators of other native plants like cranefly orchid (Tipularia discolor), buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis), and false aloe (Agave virginica) with the help of students.

“This could be really important for plants like the one we’re working with – like Mohr’s Barbara’s buttons – because very fundamental information is lacking about the kinds of pollinators that they have,” VanZandt says. “It’s likely that many of the species that visit this plant are already in the BSC moth collection, which includes nearly 800 different species so far. There’s also a chance that we’ll find species we haven’t seen before.”

His research has focused on moths’ biodiversity in environments across Alabama, including the Bibb County Glades Preserve where Mohr’s Barbara’s buttons can be found. VanZandt has conducted research with BSC colleagues and students to investigate ways to track the nocturnal pollinators, and this project incorporates the ideas they developed.

“I love learning about the applications of new technology, so using night vision infrared video camera setups will be a blast for me,” he says. “Plus, hanging out in such a biologically special place like the Bibb County Glades and documenting something that we might be the first people in the world to observe is really energizing.”

VanZandt hopes to incorporate his research into his field botany or evolutionary ecology courses at BSC – or even continuing this study of moths with students through independent research projects.