Steve Yanoviak loved to climb trees and collect insects, growing up in the Pennsylvania suburbs. He’s still doing it, but now the trees are majestic giants forming the canopy of tropical rainforests in Costa Rica, Panama, and Peru. And the insects he collects may hold the key to winged flight.

The assistant professor at UALR is fascinated by what he finds on the leaves and vines high above the forest: ants and other insects that move from plant to plant without a connection to the ground.

With the help of a $252,547 grant from the National Science Foundation, Yanoviak is collaborating with Dr. Robert Dudley of the University of California-Berkley to  study links between gliding behavior in arthropods and specific selection pressures in the rainforest canopy.  The work will also quantify the larger ecological phenomenon of arthropod fallout – “ant rain” – in the rainforest.

“The study will generally evaluate the biological relevance of gliding behavior for the most diverse animal group on the planet, the insects,” Yanoviak said. He is also curious to see if the gliding behavior exhibited by jumping bristletails—primitive insects living on tree trunks and rocks—is related to the evolution of wings.

“Tropical rainforests are wonderful places to study insects.  The forest canopy in particular is bursting with them,” he said. “Although we have learned a lot about life in the forest canopy over the past few decades, there are still many exciting discoveries out there waiting to be made.”

In 2008, the biologist’s research on gliding ants made news in the National Geographic, New York Times, the Discovery Channel, and more. Earlier this year, his latest research published in the Royal Society’s Biology Letters provided insights on the evolution of winged flight.

In the paper, “Gliding Hexapods and the Origins of Insect Aerial Behavior,” Yanoviak and his co-authors Dudley and Mike Kaspari of the University of Oklahoma, observed how arboreal bristletails – evolutionary primitive insects – in the Amazon forest can glide to tree trunks by manipulating a filament on their bodies as a rudder system.

This summer, Yanoviak will head to Panama to collect ants that fall out of trees.

“This ‘ant rain’ will be compared with those that fail to glide to trees and instead land in the understory,” he said. “Other experiments already in progress focus on a few common species of gliding ants, and examine the mechanics of their aerodynamic control.”

Yanoviak will be accompanied by two UALR students from the Donaghey Scholars honors program. He wants the students to get their hands dirty in the world of biological research. He will teach them the ins and outs of tropical field biology – from how to climb a tree 100 feet up into the rain forest canopy, to how to file permit applications to collect insect samples.

Too often, he said, young people with an interest in science don’t get exposed early enough to the exciting world of field research.

The youngest of four children, Yanoviak said his earliest memories involve chasing frogs, collecting turtles and, of course, capturing insects.

“I have been interested in nature since I could walk, and nobody in my family is surprised by what I am doing now,” he said.

His father, a civil engineer, brought home books and journals that interested his son, and the boy enjoyed thumbing through the Encyclopedia Britannia. His mother – a teacher and heath care administrator – allowed him to keep his bugs, turtles, and frogs in her laundry room.

“I never was told, ‘don’t touch – it’s dirty’,” Yanoviak said. “They encouraged my curiosity.”

Yanoviak studied biology at Auburn University, earned a master’s degree at Purdue, and received his Ph.D. at the University of Oklahoma. He did post-doctoral studies through Evergreen State College, spending two and a half years in Costa Rica, a stint in Panama through the University of Oklahoma and five years in Peru through the University of Texas studying mosquitoes that carry disease.

In between field excursions and academic life – he’s scheduled to present papers at professional conferences in India and Germany this year – the 40-year-old Yanoviak enjoys photography, rock climbing, and is a competitive runner.

“It keeps me in shape for tree climbing,” he said. “My office is in the tree tops –  I love my job!”