The Integrated Monarch Monitoring Program: From Design to Implementation

Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution

Karen Oberhauser¹  Kristen A. Baum²  Karen Kinkead³  Wendy Caldwell⁴  Karen Tuerk⁴  Laura Lukens⁴  Kyle Kasten⁴  Jennifer Thieme⁴  Holly L. Holt⁴  Alison B. Cariveau⁴  Ryan G. Drum⁵  Julie McIntyre⁶  Cindy Hoang⁷  Keith Hamilton⁷  James P. Ward⁷  Pauline Drobney⁸  Tenlea Turner⁸  Ralph Grundel⁹  Wayne E. Thogmartin^1,10  Emily L. Weiser^1,10 

[1] 0University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States;Department Integrative Biology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, United States;Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Des Moines, IA, United States;Monarch Joint Venture, Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, United States;U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bloomington, MN, United States;U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ecological Services, Tucson, AZ, United States;U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Inventory and Monitoring, National Wildlife Refuge System, Fort Collins, CO, United States;U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge, Prairie City, IA, United States;U.S. Geological Survey, Great Lakes Science Center, Chesterton, IN, United States;U.S. Geological Survey, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, La Crosse, WI, United States;

关键词: butterfly counts;    citizen science;    conservation effectiveness;    habitat assessment;    monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus);    cooperative monitoring;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fevo.2019.00167

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Steep declines in North American monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) populations have prompted continent-wide conservation efforts. While monarch monitoring efforts have existed for years, we lack a comprehensive approach to monitoring population vital rates integrated with habitat quality to inform adaptive management and effective conservation strategies. Building a geographically and ecologically representative dataset of monarchs and their habitat will improve these efforts. These data will help track long-term changes in the distribution and abundance of monarchs and their habitats, refine population and habitat models, and illuminate how conservation activities affect monarchs and their habitats. The Monarch Conservation Science Partnership developed the Integrated Monarch Monitoring Program (IMMP) to profile breeding habitats and their use by monarchs in North America. A spatially balanced random sampling framework guides site selection, while also allowing opportunistic inclusion of sites chosen by participants, such as conservation areas. The IMMP weaves new protocols together with those from existing monitoring programs to improve data compatibility for assessing milkweed (Asclepias spp.) density, nectar resources, monarch reproduction and survival, and adult monarch habitat use. Participants may select a protocol subset according to interests or local monitoring objectives, thereby maximizing contributions. Conservation partners, including public and private land managers, academic researchers, and citizen scientists contribute data to a national dataset available for analyses at multiple scales. We describe the program and its development, implementation elements that make the program robust and feasible, participation to date, and how IMMP data can advance research and conservation for monarchs, pollinators, and their habitats.

【 授权许可】

Unknown