top
North Bay
North Bay
Indybay
Indybay
Indybay
Regions
Indybay Regions North Coast Central Valley North Bay East Bay South Bay San Francisco Peninsula Santa Cruz IMC - Independent Media Center for the Monterey Bay Area North Coast Central Valley North Bay East Bay South Bay San Francisco Peninsula Santa Cruz IMC - Independent Media Center for the Monterey Bay Area California United States International Americas Haiti Iraq Palestine Afghanistan
Topics
Newswire
Features
From the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature

Assessment of Western Monarch Butterfly Winter Population Completed

by via The Xerces Society
PORTLAND, Ore., February 4, 2016 — Results from a survey of monarch butterfly overwintering sites in California show that there are more monarchs overwintering in the state this year than last. Volunteers with the Xerces Society’s Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count visited 187 sites and tallied a total of 271,924 monarchs. Although more monarchs were counted, the average number of monarchs per site is not significantly different than last year’s count, and this year’s population estimate represents a 39% decline from the long term average. The number of monarchs counted this year is but a fraction of the 1.2 million monarchs recorded in the late 90s. Photo: Monarchs in Pacific Grove, CA. Credit: Carly Voight/The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.
800_monarchspacificgrove_xercessociety.jpg
Monarchs from as far away as Idaho and Arizona converge on tree groves along the California coast to spend the winter. Because so many monarchs from the western United States are clustered together on the coast, the Xerces Society’s Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count provides one measurement of the health of western monarch populations.

“This extraordinary volunteer effort has recorded more monarchs in California this year than last year,” said Sarina Jepsen, endangered species program director. “However, monarch butterfly populations are far from recovered. We will still need a focused effort to address the many threats that monarchs face—from pesticide use and habitat loss to climate change and disease.”

There are positive indications from this year’s count results. Fifteen sites that have been continuously monitored had the highest numbers of butterflies in a decade. Several sites that had not seen monarchs for years were occupied, and there were a number of sites, such as the Berkeley Aquatic Park, that hosted overwintering monarchs for the first time. In Marin County in the northern extent of the overwintering range, 11 sites had increased numbers and two new sites each supported more than 8,000 butterflies.

Less positive is that in southern California, the majority of the sites surveyed had fewer monarchs than last year.

The Xerces Society’s Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count began in 1997 and is the longest running effort to monitor overwintering monarchs in California. The count happens during a three-week period centered on Thanksgiving. Biologists, land managers, and citizen scientists visit overwintering sites year after year to monitor the butterflies. This year, more than 100 volunteers participated.

“This count would not be possible without the amazing work from so many volunteers,” said Emma Pelton, count coordinator for the Xerces Society. “We’re so grateful for their effort—in particular from Mia Monroe, who spends countless hours organizing and training others.”


For More Information

For information about the Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count and how to get involved, visit http://www.westernmonarchcount.org

Read more about Xerces’ Monarch Conservation Campaign, including efforts to conserve overwintering sites in California and restore breeding habitat in key regions of the United States here: http://www.xerces.org/monarchs/

Learn about efforts to conserve western monarchs by visiting the Monarch Joint Venture website: http://monarchjointventure.org/our-work/list/category/western-monarchs


The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation

Protecting the Life that Sustains Us

The Xerces Society has the world’s largest pollinator conservation team, with several staff currently working on monarch conservation. Efforts include conservation and management of critical habitat across central and western U.S., habitat restoration throughout the country, milkweed production best practices, restoration of overwintering sites in California, and engagement of citizens in monarch research and protection. Our staff participate in the Federal Monarch Butterfly High Level Working Group, the USGS Monarch Science Partnership, and co-chair the Monarch Joint Venture. We collaborate with many federal and state agencies or contract and work closely with university researchers and other NGOs to advance the science and practice of monarch conservation.

To learn more about our work, please visit http://www.xerces.org

http://www.xerces.org/2016/02/04/assessment-of-western-monarch-butterfly-winter-population-completed/

All images below can be used by any media outlet. Please include a photo credit with any use.
§Monarchs in Santa Cruz, CA
by via The Xerces Society
800_monarchssantacruz_xercessociety.jpg
Credit: Carly Voight/The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation
§Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count
by via The Xerces Society
800_wmtc_graph_2015.jpg
Citation for graph data: Monroe, M., Pelton, E., C. Fallon, D. Frey, and S. Stevens. 2016. Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count Data from 1997–2015.
§Data from the Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count
by via The Xerces Society
wmtc-data-1997-2015_2.1.2016_final.pdf_600_.jpg
§Counting Monarchs
by via The Xerces Society
800_countingmonarchs02_xercessociety.jpg
Credit: Carly Voight/The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation
§Counting Monarchs
by via The Xerces Society
800_countingmonarchs01_xercessociety.jpg
Credit: Carly Voight/The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation
Add Your Comments
Listed below are the latest comments about this post.
These comments are submitted anonymously by website visitors.
TITLE
AUTHOR
DATE
Ward Johnson
Fri, Feb 5, 2016 12:15PM
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!

Donate

$110.00 donated
in the past month

Get Involved

If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.

Publish

Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.

IMC Network