Coming up with new titles often result in bad puns, and I apologize for that. Today, on one of my Ecology class trips again, I saw one of the seasons last monarch butterflies making it's way south. I also noticed it was really cold outside. Since monarchs cant survive cold winters, it got me thinking, what if a warmer climate is tricking the butterflies into sticking around later in the season before heading to Mexico. Lo and behold, I found this article: http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1603/0046-225X%282007%2936%5B1365%3AENISGO%5D2.0.CO%3B2 by Rebecca V. Batalden, Karen Oberhauser, A. Townsend Peterson. It's a study detailing the monarch butterfly migrations and the implications that climate change can have on these butterflies, as well as other migratory species attempting to escape the fickle cold.
Some of you may have noticed that winters up here in the North East are getting a little harsher. Slightly higher temperatures mean more humidity and thus a lot more snow/rain. Monarchs are killed if they are caught in a frost. The article details that monarch ranges are experiencing shifts as average temperatures get slightly warmer in the transition between summer, fall, and winter. The article also details that the milkweed plants monarch caterpillars feed on are shifting their ranges as well, and this could mean the monarchs end up migrating to the wrong place. Unless they adapt, the indirect results of a shifting climate can cause extinction of monarchs, as well as many migratory bird species that depend on eating them.
I'm not sure about all of you, but I like seeing decent sized orange flits all over my flower plants in my backyard in the summer. I hope they decide to keep their summer home here.
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