|
John Jay High School |
| Monarch Butterflies | |
|
|
|
Monarch Ecology
and Migration Butterfly migration follows many patterns. In tropical climates butterflies travel back and forth between dry and wet climate areas where their food plants can be found. Some go in only one direction following a food source. The monarch butterfly is the only butterfly to migrate in two directions every year traveling as much as two thousand miles in one direction. In North America the monarch butterfly travels in two separate migratory routes. West of the Rocky Mountains monarchs end their fall migration in small groves along the California coast, while east of the Rocky Mountains a much larger migration pathway extend from southern Canada to mountain forests in Mexico. During migration, monarchs nectar on a variety of flowering plants, roost in trees in clusters at night, and ride air currents driven by the changing weather patterns. Individuals do not travel the complete round-trip, but succeeding generations end with an over-wintering colony in Mexico, which begins the spring migration. Traveling at speeds of 30 mph and at altitudes near a mile, they head to the southwest. Millions of butterflies end up in the Mexican state of Michoacan in areas that were reported only in 1976 by Fred and Norah Urquhart. Seasonal changes influence physiological and behavioral changes in monarch butterflies during late summer and early fall. In Minnesota these changes occur in late August. Diapause interrupts mating efforts and energy is conserved in preparation for the long southward flight of one or two thousand miles. Monarchs can be infected with several diseases. A parasitic protozoan, Ophryocystis elektroscirrha, is passed maternally between the butterfly, milkweed food plants and the eggs. Females may be infected during mating as well. Much can be learned about the nature of the fall monarch migration by examining butterflies along the route. In early fall, Texas monarchs have breeding populations and it is not known if these are indeed migratory butterflies that have come out of diapause or if they are not migratory butterflies at all. John Jay Science and Engineering Academy Research Findings John Jay data analysis of the fall migration patterns over 4 years indicatews that: males were significantly heavier at all tagging locations and years of the study; monarch body mass was significantly different between all states and years; male wingspan was significantly longer than females in only two of the four years; male wingspan was significantly longer than females in Minnesota and Texas but not in Mexico; monarchs from Minnesota had significantly longer wingspans than Monarchs from Texas and Mexico; monarch wingspan was significantly different between years; chi square analysis shows that males have significantly greater wing damage than females; wing condition increased from Minnesota to Texas to Mexico; chi square analysis shows that females have significantly greater wing condition than males; wing damage increased from Minnesota to Texas to Mexico. Monarch Links http://www.learner.org/jnorth/ http://www.smm.org/sln/monarchs/ http://www.monarchlab.umn.edu/ http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/nature/education/tracker/monarch/ http://www.monarchlab.umn.edu/Research/wgs.pdf Monarch Research at John Jay Science and Engineering Academy Articles Published:
Conference Participation:
Research Participation: Taylor, O., Hobson, K., Tracking Monarchs with Isotopes, Monarch Watch Season Summary, May 1999. Biology 1 Honors classes raised monarch larvae on local milkweed, preserved adult samples for laboratory analysis at Environment Canada. Samples were tested for level of deuterium isotope concentrations. These concentrations were used to develop a mapping technique using chemical signatures of migratory species. What Our Scientist Partners Were Doing --Scientists at Environment Canada were studying the Monarch to learn more about its migration path. Scientists at the University of Kansas assisted with wild rearing and captive control experiments. So what are hydrogen isotopes and how do they help scientists find out about Monarchs? Isotopes are forms of elements. Deuterium is one isotope (or form) of hydrogen. And we all know that hydrogen and oxygen make water, right? Deuterium is in rain water and rain in different places has different amounts of deuterium. Minnesota rain has different amounts of deuterium in it than Georgia or Texas. Rain with deuterium in it falls on milkweed, Monarch butterflies lay eggs on milkweed, the eggs hatch into hungry caterpillars which eat the milkweed leaves, and later turn into butterflies and fly away. TAGGING PROGRAM AT JJHS SEA
Beginning in 1998 students at John Jay Science and Engineering Academy have tagged over 1500 butterflies in conjunction with Monarch Watch. In addition to tagging reports, data have been collected for student research projects concerning sex, mass, winglength, wingload, parasite infestation, and spermatophore presence. Several recoveries of butterflies tagged at Jay have occurred:
Student Monarch Research Projects ’06 - Patterns of Monarch Migration: Can G.I.S. & Statistics Provide Insight into the Migration Process of D. plexippus? ‘05 - Imaging Software Analysis of Danaus plexippus Adults Lab Raised at Different Temperatures ‘04 - Characteristics of the Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus) from Three different States during the Fall Migration ‘00 - Comparative Study of Successful Danaus plexippus Migration between Minnesota and Texas ‘00 - Comparative Study of Successful Danaus plexippus
Migration between Minnesota and Texas |
Copyright 2005. Northside Independent School District. All rights reserved
