save-the-monarch-butterflies

[save-the-monarch-butterflies]

Wildlife Biologist Career

According to The Balance Careers, “Wildlife biologists are primarily responsible for studying the biology, behavior, and habitats of a variety of animal populations in the wild.”. Wildlife biologists are an example of a career that would work to respond to the issue of monarch butterflies and climate change. Responsibilities of wildlife biologists include (list from The Balance Careers)[1]:

Conduct census projects, research studies, and complex data analysis.[1]

Study ecosystems.[1]

Trap, tag, or relocate animals for conservation purposes.[1]

Develop land and water use plans.[1]

Work to save endangered species.[1]

Evaluate the impact of commercial ventures on local wildlife.[1]

Study wildlife disease transmission.[1]

Interact with fish and game wardens and wildlife rehabilitators to coordinate the management of local wildlife.[1]

Write research papers, scientific reports, and scholarly articles to explain findings.[1]

Present findings to academics, the general public, and other stakeholders[1]

Wildlife biologists spend a lot of time outdoors observing and studying animal behaviour in their natural habitats[2]. They also write scientific data using their findings and inform habitat programs about their findings so that habitat programs can create more effective habitat programs[2]. The data collected by wildlife biologists can also be used to improve human-wildlife interactions[2]. The work hours may vary depending on the animal being studied (eg. if the animal being studied is nocturnal, the wildlife biologist would work at night), and work is done outdoors, in labs, in offices, and sometimes travelling to remote locations to study animals[2].

Education Requirements: master's degree in wildlife biology or a related field (eg. ecology, botany, or another environmental science)[2]. Wildlife biologists are also required to keep up to date with latest scientific findings and regulations[2]. Teaching wildlife biology in a university requires a PhD[2].

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APA Citations

[1] Kramer, M. H. (2019, April 30). Wildlife Biologist Job Description: Salary, Skills, & More. The Balance Careers. https://www.thebalancecareers.com/wildlife-biologist-125928.

[2] Job Hero Limited. (2018, May 29). Wildlife Biologist Job Description. JobHero. https://www.jobhero.com/job-description/examples/biology/wildlife-biologist#:~:text=The%20primary%20responsibility%20of%20a,assessing%20the%20state%20of%20habitats.

[save-the-monarch-butterflies]

Save Our Monarchs Foundation

Save Our Monarchs Foundation is a non-profit organization that works with different organizations, arboretums, state fairs, and butterfly conservatories with the goal of saving monarch butterflies[1]. They are currently running two projects: Corridors For Pollinators and Pollinator Garden Program.

Corridors For Pollinators

The Save Our Monarchs Foundation is working with state departments of roads and utility companies to provide habitat for pollinators on utility right-of-ways and corridors in the U.S.[2]. These utility right-of-ways and corridors use about 60 million acres of land[2]. Therefore, being able to create habitat for pollinators there would benefit pollinators a lot[2]. They plan to plant native forbs (wildflowers), sedges, and grasses on this land, which would benefit monarchs and other pollinators, as well as birds, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals[2]. The foundation is currently partnered with the Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) and has an agreement with the Nebraska Public Power District to create pollinator habitat on a few of their properties[2]. The foundation is also working to provide appropriate seed and plant mixes to best suit the pollinators[2]. The Save Our Monarchs Foundation is also partnered with the Garden Clubs of Illinois and the Illinois Department of Transportation to plant native forbs on the roadsides[2].

Pollinator Garden Program

The Pollinator Garden Program aims to get every school in the U.S. to plant a 10' x 10' garden plot for pollinators[3]. When schools enrol in the program, they receive a Pollinator Garden Mix pouch with "17 wildflower, ten (10) annuals for first-year color, plus seven (7) perennials for second and successive years’ bloom"[3]. As of now, over 9,000 schools, scout troops, and other organizations are involved in the Pollinator Garden Program[3].

In order to help, you can buy seeds from their website or donate to the Save Our Monarchs Foundation through their website[4].

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APA Citations

[1] About Us. Save Our Monarchs. (2021). https://www.saveourmonarchs.org/about-us.html#:~:text=Who%20is%20the%20Save%20Our,caterpillar's%20only%20source%20of%20sustenance.

[2] Corridors For Pollinators. Save Our Monarchs. (n.d.). https://www.saveourmonarchs.org/corridors-for-pollinators.html.

[3] Pollinator Garden Program. Save Our Monarchs. (n.d.). https://www.saveourmonarchs.org/pollinator-garden-program.html.

[4]Save Our Monarchs. (n.d.). https://www.saveourmonarchs.org/.

[save-the-monarch-butterflies]

Monarch Butterflies and Climate Change

Monarch populations

About 4.5 million monarch butterflies overwintered (spent the winter in) California and Mexico in the 1980s [1]

Since the 1980s, the total number of monarchs decreased by about 97% in the mid-2010s [1]

Less than 30,000 monarchs were counted in 2018 and 2019

The number of monarchs decreased even more in 2020, counting less than 2,000 monarchs [1]

Image source: https://xerces.org/sites/default/files/banner-photos/2250-1%20Page%20Banner%202021.jpg

Eastern Monarch Populations

99% of monarchs in the world are eastern monarchs - they overwinter in Mexico[2]

In 2017, the number of monarchs overwintering in Mexico in March 2017 decreased by 27% since March 2016[2]

The population of eastern monarchs in 2017 was more than 80% smaller than that of the mid-1990s[2]

Extreme winter storms caused millions of monarchs to die in 2016[2]

The population of monarchs overwintering in Mexico decreased by 53% since 2019[2]

Monarch butterflies occupied only 2.10 hectares of Mexican hibernation forests in December 2020 compared to 2.83 hectares in December 2019

Climate Change's Impacts on Monarch Butterflies

Due to carbon emissions from human activity such as deforestation and the burning of fossil fuels, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased. As mentioned in my previous post, monarch caterpillars rely on milkweed as their sole source of food, and milkweed produces cardenolides, which is a toxic steroid. However, monarch caterpillars can only tolerate cardenolides in small amounts[4]. The increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has been found to make the cardenolides too toxic for the monarch butterflies to tolerate[4]. Apart from this, due to changes in temperature and climate, the breeding grounds of monarchs are being driven further north, meaning that they would have to fly further distances to migrate for the winter[4]. The amount of milkweed in America has also been decreasing as farmers are using weed-killers to remove milkweed from their farms[4]. This has led to the general public planting milkweed to help the monarch butterflies, but the type of milkweed that a lot of the general public has planted is a species originally from Mexico, which produce the highest amounts of cardenolides that the monarch butterflies can tolerate[4]. Due to the increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the amount of cardenolides produced by the milkweed plants might increase more, eventually becoming too toxic for the monarch butterflies to tolerate[4].

What can you do to help?

If you live in the U.S., you can help by planting milkweed species that are appropriate for your region. The link below includes an article that you can use to find the best type of milkweed to plant according to your region.

If you don't live in the U.S., you can help by spreading awareness on this issue.

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APA Citations

[1] Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. (2018). Western Monarch Call to Action: Xerces Society. Western Monarch Call to Action. https://xerces.org/western-monarch-call-to-action.

[2] Center for Biological Diversity. (2021). Saving the Monarch Butterfly. Monarch butterfly. https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/species/invertebrates/monarch_butterfly/.

[3] WWF, Alianza Foundation, Telmex, Telcel. (2021, March 19). Less Monarch butterfly presence and increased degradation in its hibernation forests. Monarch Joint Venture. https://monarchjointventure.org/images/uploads/documents/Monarch_Butterfly_Monitoring_2019-2020_PressRelease_Final.pdf.

[4] Arnold, C. (2021, February 10). We're losing monarchs fast-here's why. Animals. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/monarch-butterflies-risk-extinction-climate-change.

[save-the-monarch-butterflies]

Monarch Butterflies - Facts

Monarch butterflies, with the scientific name Danaus plexippus, are herbivorous invertebrates that weigh around 0.26 - 0.73 grams[1]. Monarch butterflies originate from North and South America, but populations of monarch butterflies have spread to other continents, living in places where milkweed, the sole source of food for monarch caterpillars, grows[1]. Monarch butterflies breed and reproduce during the summer where the females lay around 300-500 eggs per 2-5 weeks on milkweed leaves[1]. When the caterpillars hatch, they only eat milkweed[1]. Cardenolides, a toxic steroid, are produced by milkweed, and when consumed by the monarch caterpillars, the cardenolides in the milkweed give the monarch caterpillars' body a bitter taste, deterring predators[2]. Besides deterring predators, cardenolides help caterpillars tolerate attacks from Orphryocystis elektroscirrha, a parasite that drills holes into monarch caterpillars to replicate, causing misshapen wings and lower endurance when the caterpillars become butterflies[2]. When winter is coming, monarch butterflies migrate southwards to safer places, where they stay for the winter[4]. Their flight south is aided by air currents which help them complete the migration without stopping to reproduce[4]. Eastern monarchs stay in the branches of oyamel fir trees, huddling together, where a microclimate is created by the fir trees to protect the butterflies[4]. This generation of monarchs that spend the winter in the south have a lifespan of up to 8 months, while those travelling north after winter have lifespans of only 5-7 weeks[4]. After winter, the butterflies fly north a few hundred miles, where they stop and reproduce, and this cycle continues for up to 4 to 5 generations before it is time to migrate south to overwinter again[4].

There are two main populations of monarch butterflies in North and South America; the western monarchs which breed on the west side of the Rocky Mountains and spend the winter in southern California, and the eastern monarchs which breed in the Great Plains and Canada and spend the winter in Central Mexico[1]. In the fall, eastern monarchs travel around 3,000 miles south from the US-Canada border to Central Mexico, and the western monarchs migrate over a shorter distance to their overwintering site, travelling only about 300 miles from the west side of the Rocky Mountains to California[3]. Despite their difference in habitat, both populations have no genetic differences[3].

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APA Citations

[1] National Geographic. (2017). Monarch butterfly, facts and photos. Animals. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/invertebrates/facts/monarch-butterfly.

[2] Arnold, C. (2021, February 10). We're losing monarchs fast-here's why. Animals. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/monarch-butterflies-risk-extinction-climate-change.

[3] Clark-Emory, C. (2020, August 11). Monarchs from east and west fly differently, but still mate. Futurity. https://www.futurity.org/monarchs-genetics-migration-2419832/.

[4] Bittel, J. (2017, October 17). Monarch Butterflies Migrate 3,000 Miles. Animals. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/monarch-butterfly-migration.