MONARCH JOINT VENTURE Partnering across the U.S. to conserve the monarch migration www.monarchjointventure.org

The Monarch Joint Venture is a partnership of federal Monarch Citizen Science and state agencies, non- Volunteer contributions to understanding an iconic insect governmental organizations, and academic programs that Citizen Science are working together to protect There is a long history of public participation the monarch migration across in science. Prior to the late 19th century, most the lower 48 . scientific research was conducted by untrained, yet passionate, citizens. Today, we use the term citizen MISSION scientist to describe volunteers who collect data for Recognizing that North research but who are not professional scientists. American monarch (Danaus plexippus) conservation is a Citizen science and monarch monitoring have responsibility of , been closely tied together for years. Starting and the U.S., as identified in in the 1950s, Dr. Fred Urquhart’s “Insect the North American Monarch Migration Association” involved hundreds of Conservation Plan, this Joint volunteers in a search of the then mysterious Venture will coordinate overwintering grounds of migrating monarchs. • Since 2000, two-thirds of papers on field- efforts throughout the U.S. to This tagging project allowed Urquhart to track based research outside of the Mexican Reserve conserve and protect monarch the flights of individual butterflies, and ultimately (where only scientists with permits are populations and their migratory led to the 1975 discovery that monarchs from allowed) used citizen science data. (Ries and phenomena by developing the northern U.S. and southern Canada were and implementing science- Oberhauser, 2015). overwintering in central Mexico. based habitat conservation • Citizen science volunteers engage in many and restoration measures in Public involvement in monarch citizen science actions that have important conservation collaboration with multiple programs has been growing since 1990. Several outcomes, from teaching others to improving stakeholders. citizen science programs focus on different and creating habitat. aspects of monarch biology, including migration, Our mission will be achieved population dispersal, parasites, and overwintering. • Data generated by citizen scientists allow by coordinating and Countless hours spent by thousands of dedicated researchers to answer questions that could facilitating partnerships and volunteers have allowed scientists to answer basic never be considered using traditional academic communications in the U.S. questions about how and when monarchs use research methods. and North America to deliver available habitat, how their numbers change within a combination of habitat and among years, how environmental perturbations conservation, education, and affect these changes, and how monarch populations Links and Resources research and monitoring. are responding to contemporary global change and Monarch Citizen Science: conservation efforts. www.monarchjointventure.org/get-involved/study-mon- VISION archs-citizen-science-opportunities The vision of this Joint Citizen Science Contributions Citizen Science Central: Venture is abundant monarch Citizen scientists make large-scale studies www.birds.cornell.edu/citscitoolkit/projects/find populations to sustain the monarch migratory phenomena possible by providing data, time, and other Resources: resources at continental scales over several Ries, L. and K. S. Oberhauser. A Citizen Army for Science: into perpetuity, and more Quantifying the Contributions of Citizen Scientists to our broadly to promote monarchs years. The importance of their contributions is Understanding of Biology. BioScience as a flagship species whose reflected in many ways: (April 2015) 65 (4): 419-430 conservation will sustain • 17% of peer-reviewed publications that focused Oberhauser, K.S., L. Ries, S. Altizer, R. Batalden, J. Kudell- habitats for pollinators and on monarchs since 1940 have used data from Ekstrum, M. Garland, E. Howard, S. Jepsen, J. Lovett, M. Monroe, G. Morris, E. Rendón-Salinas, R. G. Rubino, A. other plants and animals. citizen science projects. (Ries and Oberhauser, Ryan, O. R. Taylor, R. Treviño, F. Villablanca, and D. Walton. 2015). Many project websites provide 2015. Contributions to Monarch Biology and Conservation summaries of project findings and publications, through Citizen Science: 70 Years and Counting. pp 13-30 Monarch Joint Venture in K.S. Oberhauser, K. Nail, and S. Altizer, eds., Monarchs in University of Minnesota raw data, and other information. a Changing World: Biology and Conservation of an Iconic [email protected] Butterfly, Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY. Photo credits: Wendy Caldwell Tracking the Migration Overwintering Site Management (Western) Since Fred Urquhart’s tagging success, researchers and citizen Western monarchs migrate from states west of the Rocky Mountains scientists have continued tracking the migration by reporting to many sites along the coast of California. Citizen science volunteers their observations of migrating monarchs and tagging. help to track the movement and health of the western overwintering Journey North: This simple, online reporting population by participating in programs such as: project engages thousands of children and adults. Western Monarch Count: The Xerces Society for • Volunteers report sightings during the Invertebrate Conservation provides an opportunity spring and fall migrations through the for citizen scientists to aid in counting western project’s website. Spring reports include first monarch, overwintering monarchs. The primary volunteer first milkweed, first monarch egg, and first monarch larva. opportunity is the Western Monarch Thansgiving Count. For three Fall reports include adult sightings, peak migration events, weeks around the Thanksgiving holiday, volunteers visit overwintering roosting monarchs, and breeding monarchs. sites and conduct counts to estimate the number of monarchs using • Data are aggregated and used to develop real-time maps of the sites and to evaluate the condition of the habitat. Collectively, this spring and fall migration fronts. project helps to provide an accurate estimate of the western monarch www.learner.org/jnorth/monarch population size. Monarch Watch: With over 1 million butterflies www.westernmonarchcount.org tagged and approximately 16,000 recovered tags, Additionally, citizen scientists help Monarch Alert study western the Monarch Watch volunteer tagging program overwintering population characteristics. Volunteers tag monarchs helps us understand the eastern monarch fall at select California overwintering sites to help track movement migration to Mexico. Tagging and recovery data provide information between sites during the overwintering season. Visit www. on the dynamics of the migration. monarchalert.calpoly.edu for more information. • Volunteers order circular, lightweight stickers that they place Monitoring Eggs, Larvae, and Natural Enemies carefully on the wings of monarchs. Some monarchs are captured as adults and tagged, others are captured as eggs or Monarch Larva Monitoring Project: This project larvae and then the adult butterfly is tagged and released. helps researchers understand factors that • A unique ID number on each tag is used to keep track of affect monarch reproduction and development information associated with each butterfly, tagger, and recovery. during the breeding season, determining how populations vary in time and space. www.monarchwatch.org • Volunteers from across North America observe and Many smaller, more localized, citizen science programs have been report monarch eggs and larvae on milkweed plants. implemented throughout the country, including: • Numerous activities provide different opportunities, depending on volunteer interests and time commitment. Southwest Monarch Study: Based in the desert southwest, this • Activities include recording weekly monarch density, rainfall program provides both tagging and monitoring of monarch tracking, comparing characteristics of milkweed plants with habitats in Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, western and without monarchs, measuring rates of attack by parasitoids Colorado and the California deserts. Data collected from this (tachinid flies), and reporting single or anecdotal observations project help us to understand the migration, breeding, and of monarchs or milkweed plants during the breeding season. overwintering strategies of monarchs in the southwest U.S. www.mlmp.org Visit www.swmonarchs.org for more information. Monarch Health: The spread of a protozoan Programs like the Cape May Migration Monitoring Project parasite of monarch butterflies,Ophryocystis (New Jersey) and the Peninsula Point Migration Monitoring elektroscirrha (OE), is tracked with the help Project (Michigan) conduct regimented counts of all of citizen scientists participating in Project monarchs they see during a fixed period of time. These, and Monarch Health. many other local monitoring programs, are vital sources of • Volunteers receive a parasite sampling kit from Monarch information about the state of the monarch migration and Health before capturing wild monarchs to sample. population in varying locations. Samples can be from wild caught adults, or adults that have been collected as larvae and raised in captivity. • To sample for the parasite, volunteers gently squeeze a In addition to monarch based monitoring programs, small piece of tape around the abdomen of the butterfly. several general butterfly monitoring programs collect These scale samples are preserved on a note card, which data via counts, transects, and opportunistic sightings. is sent to Monarch Health for analysis. The North American Butterfly Association (NABA) has the largest and longest-running butterfly monitoring program www.monarchparasites.org in North America. Butterfly Monitoring Networks (BMNs) conduct butterfly surveys in specific locations, repeating The Monarch SOS app allows access measurements year after year. Additionally, online to citizen science programs and Lepidoptera reporting sites include Butterflies and Moths information while monitoring! Scan of North America and eButterfly. the QR code or visit to learn more: www.naturedigger.com