Estimating the annual distribution of monarch butterflies in Canada over 16 years using citizen science data
Affiliation
Univ Arizona, Dept EntomolIssue Date
2019-06-21Keywords
species distribution modelDanaus plexippus
Asclepias
breeding distribution
population dynamics
migration
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Larrivée, M., Prudic, K. L., Norris, D. R., & Flockhart, D. T. Estimating the annual distribution of monarch butterflies in Canada over 16 years using citizen science data.Journal
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© 2019 Tyler Flockhart et al. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).Collection Information
This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at repository@u.library.arizona.edu.Abstract
Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus, Linnaeus, 1758) are comprised of two migratory populations separated by the Rocky Mountains and are renowned for their long-distance movements among the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Both populations have declined over several decades across North America prompting all three countries to evaluate conservation efforts. Monitoring monarch distribution and abundance is a necessary aspect of ongoing management in Canada where they are a species at risk. We used presence-only data from two citizen science data sets to estimate the annual breeding distribution of monarch butterflies in Canada between 2000 and 2015. Monarch breeding distribution in Canada varied widely among years owing to natural variation, and when considering the upper 95% of the probability of occurrence, the annual mean breeding distribution in Canada was 484 943 km(2) (min: 173 449 km(2); max: 1 425 835 km(2)). The area of occurrence was approximately an order of magnitude larger in eastern Canada than in western Canada. Habitat restoration for monarch butterflies in Canada should prioritize productive habitats in southern Ontario where monarchs occur annually and, therefore, likely contribute most to the long-term viability of monarchs in eastern North America. Overall, our assessment sets the geographic context to develop successful management strategies for monarchs in Canada.Note
Open access journalISSN
2371-1671Version
Final published versionSponsors
Liber Ero Postdoctoral Fellowship; University Research Chair from the University of Guelphae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1139/facets-2018-0011
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Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as © 2019 Tyler Flockhart et al. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).