A trans-national monarch butterfly population model and implications for regional conservation priorities

The current effort in Australia to increase the proportion of perennial vegetation in agricultural landscapes to manage dryland salinity presents opportunities to improve the viability of remnant vegetation and its dependant biota. At this intersection of ecology and agriculture, many questions arise concerning interpretations of biodiversity from the perspectives of landowners and conservationists, the conservation priorities in agricultural landscapes, and the role of ecological science in understanding the functional contribution of emerging perennial-plant based farming systems to the viability of the native biota. This paper provides the background for the four papers that follow, presented originally at a workshop at Rutherglen in Victoria in October 2003 to discuss the issue of biodiversity values in agricultural landscapes. It then puts forward an approach to research into the biodiversity value of perennial land use systems based on three principles; understanding regional conservation priorities, appreciating farm scale priorities and constraints from the perspective of the landholder, and identifying response functions to establish the role of revegetation in maintaining the viability of the native biota.

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Regional conservation priorities for crocodylians in Bolivia

Journal for Nature Conservation ◽

10.1016/j.jnc.2019.125753 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 52 ◽

pp. 125753

Author(s):

Andrés L. Rodriguez-Cordero ◽

Sergio A. Balaguera-Reina ◽

Llewellyn D. Densmore

Keyword(s):

Conservation Priorities ◽

Regional Conservation

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Characterizing New Wintering Sites for Monarch Butterfly Colonies in Sierra Nevada, Mexico

Insects ◽

10.3390/insects11060384 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (6) ◽

pp. 384

Author(s):

Ramiro Pérez-Miranda ◽

Víctor Javier Arriola-Padilla ◽

Martín Enrique Romero-Sanchez

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Protected Areas ◽

Sierra Nevada ◽

Danaus Plexippus ◽

Monarch Butterfly ◽

Field Trips ◽

Conservation Strategies ◽

National Commission ◽

Butterfly Population

Every year, Danaus plexippus (Linnaeus, 1758) travels to hibernate in oyamel fir forests located between the limits of the states of Michoacán and Mexico in Mexico. Climate change and anthropogenic actions are diminishing oyamel fir forests in Mexico, putting pressure on the habitats of monarch butterflies. In the last decade, new colonies outside their usual range have been predicted through modeling and reported by the National Commission on Protected Areas of Mexico. The objectives of the study were to recover information on the historical and new hibernation sites, reported or modeled, from different literature sources. We also aimed to perform a bioclimatic and forest biometric characterization of new monarch butterfly colonies located in Sierra Nevada in Mexico to provide information to aid in conservation strategies for the monarch butterfly population. We conducted field trips to georeference the colonies at sites located in the Atlautla municipality in Mexico State. Climatic, topographic, and forest biometric variables were used to characterize the sites physically. It was found that the butterfly’s roosts occurred at a higher elevation than those recorded by other sources. The locations where the monarch’s colonies were established, in the east of Mexico State, provide information relevant to defining and developing policies for their conservation.

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Effects of human activities on monarch butterfly habitat in protected mountain forests, Mexico

The Forestry Chronicle ◽

10.5558/tfc79242-2 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 79 (2) ◽

pp. 242-246 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

M Isabel Ramírez ◽

Joaquín G Azcárate ◽

Laura Luna

Keyword(s):

Protected Areas ◽

Human Activities ◽

Forest Disturbance ◽

Monarch Butterfly ◽

Subsistence Farming ◽

Mountain Forests ◽

Recovery Processes ◽

Wood Extraction ◽

Disturbance And Recovery ◽

Butterfly Population

Since the monarch butterfly overwintering habitat was discovered in the mountainous fir forests in central Mexico three presidential decrees have been issued (1980, 1986, 2001) to protect it. But these forests are the source of livelihood for many local people, whose activities (wood extraction and clearance for subsistence farming) represent a major threat to the forests, and thus to the butterfly population. This study identifies important deforestation, disturbance, and recovery processes caused by human activities in the protected areas and their surroundings. Contrary to our expectations, the protected areas have been most negatively affected by human activities, whereas areas devoted to multiple uses have been more adequately preserved. Key words: monarch butterfly habitat, deforestation, forest disturbance, protected areas

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Interpreting surveys to estimate the size of the monarch butterfly population: Pitfalls and prospects

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0181245 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 12 (7) ◽

pp. e0181245 ◽

Cited By ~ 36

Author(s):

John M. Pleasants ◽

Myron P. Zalucki ◽

Karen S. Oberhauser ◽

Lincoln P. Brower ◽

Orley R. Taylor ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Monarch Butterfly ◽

Butterfly Population

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Milkweed loss in agricultural fields because of herbicide use: effect on the monarch butterfly population: Herbicide use and monarch butterflies

10.31219/osf.io/wmj6e ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

John M. Pleasants ◽

Karen S. Oberhauser

Keyword(s):

Population Size ◽

Genetically Modified ◽

Monarch Butterfly ◽

Agricultural Fields ◽

Monarch Butterflies ◽

Glyphosate Herbicide ◽

Butterfly Population ◽

Conservation Threats ◽

Herbicide Use ◽

The U.S

1. The size of the Mexican overwintering population of monarch butterflieshas decreased over the last decade. Approximately half of these butterflies comefrom the U.S. Midwest where larvae feed on common milkweed. There has been alarge decline in milkweed in agricultural fields in the Midwest over the last decade.This loss is coincident with the increased use of glyphosate herbicide in conjunctionwith increased planting of genetically modified (GM) glyphosate-tolerant corn(maize) and soybeans (soya).2. We investigate whether the decline in the size of the overwintering populationcan be attributed to a decline in monarch production owing to a loss of milkweeds inagricultural fields in the Midwest. We estimate Midwest annual monarch productionusing data on the number of monarch eggs per milkweed plant for milkweeds in differenthabitats, the density of milkweeds in different habitats, and the area occupiedby those habitats on the landscape.3. We estimate that there has been a 58% decline in milkweeds on the Midwestlandscape and an 81% decline in monarch production in the Midwest from 1999 to2010. Monarch production in the Midwest each year was positively correlated withthe size of the subsequent overwintering population in Mexico. Taken together, theseresults strongly suggest that a loss of agricultural milkweeds is a major contributorto the decline in the monarch population.4. The smaller monarch population size that has become the norm will make thespecies more vulnerable to other conservation threats.

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Assessing Role of Major Drivers in Recent Decline of Monarch Butterfly Population in North America

Frontiers in Environmental Science ◽

10.3389/fenvs.2018.00086 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Joseph Belsky ◽

Neelendra K. Joshi

Keyword(s):

North America ◽

Monarch Butterfly ◽

Butterfly Population

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