Download or read book North American Monarch Butterfly Ecology and Conservation written by Jay E. Diffendorfer and published by Frontiers Media SA. This book was released on 2020-10-23 with total page 422 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This eBook is a collection of articles from a Frontiers Research Topic. Frontiers Research Topics are very popular trademarks of the Frontiers Journals Series: they are collections of at least ten articles, all centered on a particular subject. With their unique mix of varied contributions from Original Research to Review Articles, Frontiers Research Topics unify the most influential researchers, the latest key findings and historical advances in a hot research area! Find out more on how to host your own Frontiers Research Topic or contribute to one as an author by contacting the Frontiers Editorial Office: frontiersin.org/about/contact.
Download or read book Monarchs in a Changing World written by Karen S. Oberhauser and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2015-11-16 with total page 606 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Monarch butterflies are among the most popular insect species in the world and are an icon for conservation groups and environmental education programs. Monarch caterpillars and adults are easily recognizable as welcome visitors to gardens in North America and beyond, and their spectacular migration in eastern North America (from breeding locations in Canada and the United States to overwintering sites in Mexico) has captured the imagination of the public. Monarch migration, behavior, and chemical ecology have been studied for decades. Yet many aspects of monarch biology have come to light in only the past few years. These aspects include questions regarding large-scale trends in monarch population sizes, monarch interactions with pathogens and insect predators, and monarch molecular genetics and large-scale evolution. A growing number of current research findings build on the observations of citizen scientists, who monitor monarch migration, reproduction, survival, and disease. Monarchs face new threats from humans as they navigate a changing landscape marked by deforestation, pesticides, genetically modified crops, and a changing climate, all of which place the future of monarchs and their amazing migration in peril. To meet the demand for a timely synthesis of monarch biology, conservation and outreach, Monarchs in a Changing World summarizes recent developments in scientific research, highlights challenges and responses to threats to monarch conservation, and showcases the many ways that monarchs are used in citizen science programs, outreach, and education. It examines issues pertaining to the eastern and western North American migratory populations, as well as to monarchs in South America, the Pacific and Caribbean Islands, and Europe. The target audience includes entomologists, population biologists, conservation policymakers, and K–12 teachers.
Download or read book The Monarch Butterfly written by Karen Suzanne Oberhauser and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2004 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Synthesizes current scientific knowledge on the life cycle, behavior, spectacular migration, and conservation of this charismatic insect.
Download or read book Biology and Conservation of the Monarch Butterfly written by Stephen B. Malcolm and published by . This book was released on 1993 with total page 440 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Monarch Butterfly written by and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 16 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Monarch Butterflies written by Ann Hobbie and published by Storey Publishing, LLC. This book was released on 2021-04-27 with total page 49 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Monarchs are a favorite and familiar North American butterfly, and their incredible annual migration has captured the popular imagination for generations. As populations of monarchs decline dramatically due to habitat loss and climate change, interest in and enthusiasm for protecting these beloved pollinators has skyrocketed. With easy-to-read text and colorful, engaging illustrations, Monarch Butterflies presents young readers with rich, detailed information about the monarchs’ life cycle, anatomy, and the wonders of their signature migration, as well as how to raise monarchs at home and the cultural significance of monarchs in Day of the Dead celebrations. As the book considers how human behavior has harmed monarchs, it offers substantive ways kids can help make a positive difference. Children will learn how to turn lawns into native plant gardens, become involved in citizen science efforts such as tagging migrating monarchs and participating in population counts, and support organizations that work to conserve butterflies.
Download or read book Butterfly Conservation in North America written by Jaret C Daniels and published by Springer. This book was released on 2015-07-27 with total page 195 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book addresses this critical need by providing a straightforward and easy to read primer to key elements of at-risk butterfly conservation programs including captive husbandry, organism reintroduction, habitat restoration, population monitoring, recovery planning and cooperative programs. Impacts from habitat loss and fragmentation, invasive species, and climate change continue to accelerate the rate of imperilment and necessitate increased conservation action. Zoos, natural history museums, botanical gardens and wildlife agencies are progressively focusing on insects, particularly charismatic groups such as butterflies and native pollinators, to help advance local conservation efforts and foster increased community interest and engagement. Today, many institutions and their partners have successfully initiated at-risk butterfly conservation programs, and numerous others are exploring ways to become involved. However, insufficient experience and familiarity with insects is a critical constraint preventing staff and institutions from adequately planning, implementing and evaluating organism-targeted activities. The information provided is intended to improve staff practices, learn from existing programs, promote broader information exchange, and strengthen institutional ability to develop new or improve existing butterfly conservation initiatives. The information provided is intended to improve staff practices, learn from existing programs, promote broader information exchange, and strengthen institutional ability to develop new or improve existing butterfly conservation initiatives. This book will be useful to professionals from zoos, natural history museums, botanical gardens, wildlife agencies, conservation organizations, land managers, students, and scientist in conservation biology, ecology, entomology, biology, and zoology.
Download or read book Monarchs and Milkweed written by Anurag Agrawal and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2017-03-28 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The fascinating and complex evolutionary relationship of the monarch butterfly and the milkweed plant Monarch butterflies are one of nature's most recognizable creatures, known for their bright colors and epic annual migration from the United States and Canada to Mexico. Yet there is much more to the monarch than its distinctive presence and mythic journeying. In Monarchs and Milkweed, Anurag Agrawal presents a vivid investigation into how the monarch butterfly has evolved closely alongside the milkweed—a toxic plant named for the sticky white substance emitted when its leaves are damaged—and how this inextricable and intimate relationship has been like an arms race over the millennia, a battle of exploitation and defense between two fascinating species. The monarch life cycle begins each spring when it deposits eggs on milkweed leaves. But this dependency of monarchs on milkweeds as food is not reciprocated, and milkweeds do all they can to poison or thwart the young monarchs. Agrawal delves into major scientific discoveries, including his own pioneering research, and traces how plant poisons have not only shaped monarch-milkweed interactions but have also been culturally important for centuries. Agrawal presents current ideas regarding the recent decline in monarch populations, including habitat destruction, increased winter storms, and lack of milkweed—the last one a theory that the author rejects. He evaluates the current sustainability of monarchs and reveals a novel explanation for their plummeting numbers. Lavishly illustrated with more than eighty color photos and images, Monarchs and Milkweed takes readers on an unforgettable exploration of one of nature's most important and sophisticated evolutionary relationships.
Download or read book 100 Plants to Feed the Monarch written by The Xerces Society and published by Storey Publishing, LLC. This book was released on 2021-04-20 with total page 570 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The plight of the monarch butterfly has captured public attention and sparked widespread interest in helping to save their dwindling populations. In this in-depth portrait of the monarch butterfly—covering its life cycle, its remarkable relationship with milkweed, its extraordinary migration, and the threats it now faces due to habitat loss and climate change—detailed instructions on how to design and create monarch-friendly landscapes are enriched by guidance on observing and understanding butterfly behavior and habits. Following the model of their previous best-selling book, 100 Plants to Feed the Bees, the Xerces Society provides at-a-glance profiles of the plant species that provide monarchs with nourishment. The plants, which are all commercially available, range from dozens of species of milkweed—the only food of monarch caterpillars—to numerous flowering plants, shrubs, and trees that provide nectar for the adult butterfly, including those that bloom in late season and sustain monarchs in their great migration. Gorgeous photographs of monarchs and plants, plus illustrations, maps, and garden plans, make this a visually engaging guide.
Download or read book The Monarch Butterfly written by Fred A. Urquhart and published by . This book was released on 1960 with total page 408 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Monarch Butterfly Migration written by Monika Maeckle and published by University of Oklahoma Press. This book was released on 2024-08-20 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Each fall, millions of monarch butterflies migrate from Canada to Mexico. Their incredible journey—nearly 3,000 miles long—takes them through Oklahoma, Texas, and other US states, where butterfly devotees eagerly await their arrival. The monarch migration is a brilliant demonstration of nature’s ingenuity, but the delicate creatures face many perils, and the number of migrating monarchs is declining sharply. This compelling book weaves natural history, science, and personal experience to explore the rise and fall of one of nature’s most spectacular phenomena. While monarch butterflies have been migrating for centuries, they seized public attention in 1976 when a National Geographic magazine cover story featured the “discovery” of their roosting sites in Mexico. The article rocked the world of lepidoptery, solved a scientific mystery, and opened the door to human meddling. The new revelations put a spotlight on the insects, and inspired the creation of butterfly sanctuaries in Mexico as well as myriad efforts to protect them. Almost 40 years later, many believe that monarch butterflies are in danger of extinction. How real is that danger? Journalist and butterfly advocate Monika Maeckle addresses this question and more as she delves into the rich history and current plight of the monarch butterfly. Through meticulous reporting, Maeckle offers unique insights on the butterflies as well as a nuanced portrait of the shifting and sometimes contentious community of scientists, enthusiasts, and “flutterati” who have emerged to support the monarchs’ cause. A highly engaging book, The Monarch Butterfly Migration also focuses a wider lens on the effects of climate change and the tensions between advocacy and scientific accuracy. In addition to calling for environmental sustainability, this book reminds each of us to notice—and never take for granted—the natural wonders in our own backyards.
Download or read book Potential Threats to the Conservation of Eastern North American Monarch Butterflies Danaus Plexippus and a Tool for Population Recovery written by Alana Wilcox and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The eastern North American monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) has undergone large-scale declines over the last two decades and no clear single cause to explain the decline has yet been identified. In Chapter 2, I assess the contribution of potential threats on eastern population of monarch butterflies. I found that declines in suitable environmental conditions and overwintering and breeding habitat loss are likely the leading threats to the eastern population of monarch butterflies, but that risks imposed by contaminants, predation, and parasitism may also contribute. Agrochemical exposure, specifically from neonicotinoids, is a leading concern due to the potential lethal and sublethal effects on development and behaviour on non-target species, such as monarchs. I also conducted two experimental studies on monarchs reared on milkweed grown in soil treated with field-realistic levels of clothianidin at a low (15 ng/g of clothianidin) or high (25 ng/g of clothianidin) dose levels, or in a control (0 ng/g of clothianidin). In Chapter 3, I provide experimental evidence that late instar caterpillars reared on clothianidin-treated milkweed were smaller and weighed less than controls. Nonetheless, clothianidin treatment was also associated with larger adult monarch butterflies, but did not influence the egg size or the number of eggs laid. In Chapter 4, I show that clothianidin did not influence orientation, vector strength, or the rate of travel of adult migratory monarch butterflies. Lastly, in Chapter 5, I investigate whether captive rearing, often used as a conservation and educational tool for this species, influences migratory behaviour. While captive-reared migratory monarchs tested in the flight simulator did not show a normal directional flight response, individuals released in the wild and radio-tracked showed proper orientation and flew in a southward direction towards their Mexican overwintering grounds. Collectively, my thesis contributes to a broader understanding of the potential causes underlying declines in monarch butterflies, most notably from neonicotinoids, and offers important insight into viability of captive rearing as an important conservation and educational tool.
Download or read book Bicycling with Butterflies written by Sara Dykman and published by Timber Press. This book was released on 2021-04-13 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “What a wonderful idea for an adventure! Absolutely inspired, timely, and important.” —Alistair Humphreys, National Geographic Adventurer of the Year and author of The Doorstep Mile and Around the World by Bike Outdoor educator and field researcher Sara Dykman made history when she became the first person to bicycle alongside monarch butterflies on their storied annual migration—a round-trip adventure that included three countries and more than 10,000 miles. Equally remarkable, she did it solo, on a bike cobbled together from used parts. Her panniers were recycled buckets. In Bicycling with Butterflies, Dykman recounts her incredible journey and the dramatic ups and downs of the nearly nine-month odyssey. We’re beside her as she navigates unmapped roads in foreign countries, checks roadside milkweed for monarch eggs, and shares her passion with eager schoolchildren, skeptical bar patrons, and unimpressed border officials. We also meet some of the ardent monarch stewards who supported her efforts, from citizen scientists and researchers to farmers and high-rise city dwellers. With both humor and humility, Dykman offers a compelling story, confirming the urgency of saving the threatened monarch migration—and the other threatened systems of nature that affect the survival of us all.
Download or read book Integrating Social and Ecological Dimensions for the Conservation of the Monarch Butterfly Using Systems Dynamics and Choice Modeling written by Rodrigo Solís and published by . This book was released on 2022 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Currently, human activity is the primary driver of global biodiversity loss, so researchers, managers, and decision-makers need to recognize the link between nature and society. Conservation strategies must be analyzed holistically as complex adaptive systems (CAS) for effective conservation strategies. This thesis integrates biological and social sciences to help conservationists improve their planning toolbox, using a case study of the Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus), an iconic and imperilled migratory butterfly in North America. More specifically, it examines the importance of recognizing when a conservation issue is a social-ecological CAS and considering the dynamism between the system's social and ecological aspects, potentially determining the success or failure of conservation efforts. Firstly, this thesis explored the social domain by describing general preferences for international conservation strategies for Monarch butterfly conservation to determine heterogeneity in public preferences for strategic-level features of a recovery strategy. In addition, it demonstrates how program success projections affect people's willingness to support conservation efforts. This analysis used a discrete choice experiment and latent class analysis to achieve its objectives. Then, the Monarch ecological domain was analyzed by developing a full-migration temperature-dependent demographic model and testing the hypothesis that the number of milkweed stems currently recommended to reach a Monarch's minimum viable population falls short of its actual requirements. A Bayesian-driven estimation of the actual additional yearly number of milkweed stems needed is presented. In the final data chapter, both domains analyzed in previous sections are combined into a social-ecological model to study an NGO's implications to not account for a donor's dynamic willingness to pay for Monarch conservation. This model also estimates the optimal donations an NGO should ask for to reach their conservation goal. CAS are chaotic and unpredictable by nature, making them challenging for resource managers. Nevertheless, with human presence influencing most of our world, learning to deal with their nonlinearities and uncertainties is crucial. This thesis provides tools in that direction, hoping that future researchers and practitioners can use them to understand CAS better and improve conservation actions.
Download or read book The Last Butterflies written by Nick Haddad and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2021-04-13 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A remarkable look at the rarest butterflies, how global changes threaten their existence, and how we can bring them back from near-extinction Most of us have heard of such popular butterflies as the Monarch or Painted Lady. But what about the Fender’s Blue? Or the St. Francis’ Satyr? Because of their extreme rarity, these butterflies are not well-known, yet they are remarkable species with important lessons to teach us. The Last Butterflies spotlights the rarest of these creatures—some numbering no more than what can be held in one hand. Drawing from his own first-hand experiences, Nick Haddad explores the challenges of tracking these vanishing butterflies, why they are disappearing, and why they are worth saving. He also provides startling insights into the effects of human activity and environmental change on the planet’s biodiversity. Weaving a vivid and personal narrative with ideas from ecology and conservation, Haddad illustrates the race against time to reverse the decline of six butterfly species. Many scientists mistakenly assume we fully understand butterflies’ natural histories. Yet, as with the Large Blue in England, we too often know too little and the conservation consequences are dire. Haddad argues that a hands-off approach is not effective and that in many instances, like for the Fender’s Blue and Bay Checkerspot, active and aggressive management is necessary. With deliberate conservation, rare butterflies can coexist with people, inhabit urban fringes, and, in the case of the St. Francis’ Satyr, even reside on bomb ranges and military land. Haddad shows that through the efforts to protect and restore butterflies, we might learn how to successfully confront conservation issues for all animals and plants. A moving account of extinction, recovery, and hope, The Last Butterflies demonstrates the great value of these beautiful insects to science, conservation, and people.
Download or read book Conservation Status and Ecology of the Monarch Butterfly in the United States written by Sarina Jepsen and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 28 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Chasing Monarchs written by Robert Michael Pyle and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2014-04-29 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although no one had ever followed North American monarch butterflies on their annual southward journey to Mexico and California, in the 1990s there were well-accepted assumptions about the nature and form of the migration. But to Robert Michael Pyle, a naturalist with long experience in monarch conservation, the received wisdom about the butterflies’ long journey just didn’t make sense. In the autumn of 1996 he set out to uncover the facts, to pursue the tide of “cinnamon sailors” on their long, mysterious flight. Chasing Monarchs chronicles Pyle’s 9,000-mile journey to discover firsthand the secrets of the monarchs’ annual migration. Part road trip, part outdoor adventure, and part natural history study, Pyle’s book overturns old theories and provides insights both large and small regarding monarch butterflies, their biology, and their spectacular migratory travels. Since the book’s first publication, its controversial conclusions have been fully confirmed, and monarchs are better understood than ever before. The Afterword for this volume includes not only updated information on the myriad threats to monarch butterflies, but also various efforts under way to ensure the future of the world’s most amazing butterfly migration.
