ATHENS — University of Georgia ecology professor John Pickering will share his knowledge about the often-unseen populations of moths in Northeast Georgia at the Oconee Rivers Audubon Society’s next meeting, set for 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 3, at Sandy Creek Nature Center.

Pickering, an associate professor in UGA’s Odum School of Ecology, will speak on the topic, “Join the Dark Side of Life – The Fabulous Diversity of Local Moths.”

Pickering, whose research interests include biodiversity and fire ecology, is the co-founder of the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory, a program in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to count how many species live in the mountain environment, what jobs these species do and how they interact with each other.

ATBI is more than just a checklist of species names. It is a complex and living database of species locations, habitats, genetic diversity, population density, symbiotic relationships and predator-prey interactions.

The meeting will be held in the Nature Center’s newly expanded Education and Visitor Center, formerly the ENSAT Center, 205 Old Commerce Road off U.S. 441 north of Athens.

To reach the center from the Loop 10 bypass, exit at U.S. 441/Commerce Road and turn north toward Commerce. Go approximately a mile, turn left at the Sandy Creek Nature Center sign and go to the end of the road. Turn left at Old Commerce Road; parking for the Education and Visitor Center will be on the right.

For more information, visit www.oconeeriversaudubon.org, or contact Audubon chapter President Richard Hall at president@oconeeriversaudubon.org.

The Oconee Rivers Audubon Society is a nonprofit organization of people brought together by a love of birds and nature.