Monarch Butterfly Demography and Habitat Suitability in Western Idaho
Faculty Mentor Information
Dusty Perkins
Abstract
Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) populations have undergone extensive declines since the mid-1990s due to habitat loss and fragmentation in wintering and breeding ranges. Urbanization and intensiveagricultural practices in breeding ranges have reduced populations of monarch obligate host milkweeds (Asclepias sp.). Little information exists on western monarch demography and no information exists regarding habitat suitability. In light of increasing conservation concerns and prospective Endangered Species Act listing, we determined the distribution, abundance, and demography of monarchs in Treasure Valley, ID. We employed citizen science efforts and the ArcGIS Collector app to collect milkweed and monarch occurrences and habitat characteristics. We used generalized linear mixed models and model selection procedures to evaluate the importance of breeding site characteristics on breeding patch selection and success. Here, we present results of our model and discuss their implications for monarch butterfly conservation.
Monarch Butterfly Demography and Habitat Suitability in Western Idaho
Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) populations have undergone extensive declines since the mid-1990s due to habitat loss and fragmentation in wintering and breeding ranges. Urbanization and intensiveagricultural practices in breeding ranges have reduced populations of monarch obligate host milkweeds (Asclepias sp.). Little information exists on western monarch demography and no information exists regarding habitat suitability. In light of increasing conservation concerns and prospective Endangered Species Act listing, we determined the distribution, abundance, and demography of monarchs in Treasure Valley, ID. We employed citizen science efforts and the ArcGIS Collector app to collect milkweed and monarch occurrences and habitat characteristics. We used generalized linear mixed models and model selection procedures to evaluate the importance of breeding site characteristics on breeding patch selection and success. Here, we present results of our model and discuss their implications for monarch butterfly conservation.
Comments
Poster #Th16