大象传媒

大象传媒 researchers are playing a key role in guiding conservation efforts to protect a declining butterfly population. The eastern monarch butterfly, an important pollinating species known for its distinct yellow-orange and black colour, is diminishing due to the loss of the milkweed plant鈥攊ts primary food source. 

Researchers analyzed current conservation strategies and recommended changes to how and where declining milkweed can be restored, based on assessments of climate and butterfly migration. Their study is 

大象传媒 PhD student Rodrigo Solis-Sosa and professor Sean Cox, from the School of Resource and Environmental Management, led the study with biological sciences professor Arne Mooers. The trio collaborated with Christina Semeniuk, Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research (GLIER) and study co-writer Maxim Larriv茅e, director of the Insectarium de Montr茅al, one of the five Montr茅al鈥檚 Space for Life museums.

Solis-Sosa says researchers hope to prevent the eastern monarch butterfly from the same fate as the western population, which typically migrated from the Okanagan to California each winter. This year鈥檚 measurements of western monarch butterfly colonies found 鈥渮ero overwintering populations, putting them at an all-time low and closer to extinction,鈥� he explains.

Eastern monarch butterflies overwinter in Mexico from November to March then migrate and reproduce across the U.S. before reaching eastern Canada in late August. 

Milkweed has declined across the U.S. due to clearing land for agricultural use, GMO crops, herbicides and climate change. While identifying the U.S. midwest as the best place to focus on restoration efforts, given optimal weather and milkweed availability when the monarch butterfly arrives, the team also found that the southern U.S. has a paramount yet somewhat neglected role. 

鈥淲hile increasing the number of milkweed stems in the South wasn鈥檛 as effective as in the Midwest, decreasing their number in the South was catastrophic,鈥� says Solis-Sosa. 鈥淲hile the South may not play a huge role in increasing the eastern monarch butterfly population, it acts as a safety net.鈥�

Researchers also found that recommended estimates of between 1.2 and 1.6 billion milkweed stems falls short of  supporting butterfly populations鈥� by 50 to 90 percent. Existing conservation models don鈥檛 factor in the effects of drought, changes in temperature and the stem鈥檚 effective usability by the monarch butterflies. 

鈥淢onarchs may need at least three billion stems to reach a safe minimum threshold population of six overwintering hectares,鈥� says Solis-Sosa. The population once covered the equivalent of 18 hectares over its wintering territory nearly 25 years ago, but that hasn鈥檛 risen above six over the past decade. The latest measure has dwindled to just 2.3 overwintering hectares.

Communities in Mexico also depend on monarch butterfly ecotourism as an essential part of their livelihoods. 鈥淢onarch butterflies also hold a special significance in traditional Mexican culture,鈥� says Solis-Sosa. 鈥淭hey arrive in Mexico by November 2鈥攖he Day of the Dead鈥攁nd symbolize the dead souls of loved ones arriving to comfort them through the dark and cold winter season. Losing the monarch butterfly would represent a cultural loss to the Mexican people.鈥� 

Solis-Sosa says their research will help policymakers across North America update conservation strategies and has already led to discussions with the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC). The CEC supports cooperation between North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners to address environmental issues of continental concern.  

AVAILABLE 大象传媒 EXPERT

RODRIGO SOLIS-SOSA, PhD candidate, School of Resource and Environmental Management 
rodrigo_solis@sfu.ca

CONTACT

CHANTAL C脭T脡,  Communications Officer, Montr茅al Space for Life
chantal.cote4@montreal.ca 

MELISSA SHAW, 大象传媒  Communications & Marketing 
236.880.3297 | melissa_shaw@sfu.ca

大象传媒 
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778.782.3210 

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