Long Live the Monarch

Monarch butterflies are beautiful insects and have an interesting life cycle and migration pattern, but they are rapidly declining into possible extinction. Therefore, everyone should take steps to plant, protect and improve monarch breeding habitats across North America.

Episode Hosts: Jacey Cerda, Claire Kazen

Course Coordinators & Podcast Ringmasters: Colleen Duncan, Molly Carpenter, Treana Mayer

Audio Engineer: Ethan Fagre

Special Guests:

Dr. Jaret Daniels is an associate professor specializing in lepidoptera research and insect conservation at the University of Florida He also has a position at the Florida Museum of Natural History as assistant director of exhibits and public programs and assistant curator of Lepidoptera. Dr. Daniels is involved in national butterfly conservation initiatives, including the launch of a butterfly-inspired beer at breweries across the country, which you can read about here: https://news.ufl.edu/2021/10/monarch-beer/

Carol Seemueller is a citizen scientist in Fort Collins, CO, who has championed monarch conservation in her own backyard and in the classroom.

Katie-Lyn Bunneycoordinates education and outreach for Monarch Joint Venture (MJV), which is a national nonprofit working to connect federal and state agencies, other nonprofits, community groups, businesses, and education programs for the conservation of monarchs and other pollinators. MJV is a great resource for those looking to support monarch butterflies and their migration. You can find these resources here: https://monarchjointventure.org/get-involved

References

Forister, ML, Halsch, CA, Nice, CC, Fordyce, JA, Dilts, TE, Oliver, JC, Prudic, KL, Shapiro, AM, Wilson, JK, and Glassberg, J. 2021. Fewer butterflies seen by community scientists across the warming and drying landscapes of the American West. Science 371:1042-45.

Nestle, R, Daniels, JC, and Dale, AG. 2020. Mixed-species gardens increase monarch oviposition without increasing top-down predation. Insects 11:648

Pelton, EM, Schultz, CB, Jepsen, SJ, Hoffman Black, S, and Crone, EE. 2019. Western monarch population plummets: status, probable causes, and recommended conservation actions. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. 7:258.

Thogmartin, WE, Widerholt, R, Oberhauser, K, Drum, RG, Diffendorfer, JE. Altizer, S, Taylor, OR, Pleasants, J, Semmens, D, Semmens, B, Erickson, R, Libby, K, and Lopez-Hoffman, L. 2017. Monarch butterfly population decline in North America: identifying the threatening processes. R. Soc. Open. Sci. 4:170760.

Zylstra, ER, Ries, L, Neupane, N, Saunders, SP, Ramirez, MI, Rendon-Salina, E, Oberhauser, KS, Farr, MT, and Zipkin, EF. 2021. Changes in climate drive recent monarch butterfly dynamics. Nature Ecology and Evolution. 5:1441-1452.