Influence of habitat quality and resource density on breeding-season female monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) movement and space use in north-central USA agroecosystem landscapes
Description
- The eastern North American monarch butterfly is at risk of quasi-extinction due, in part, to the loss of breeding habitat in agricultural landscapes of the USA Midwest. Because adult females are not patch residents, egg abundance and distribution across the landscape are a function of their perceptual range, flight directionality, and flight step lengths. Conservation actions that account for habitat use in agricultural landscapes can enhance functional connectivity.
- Field-captured females (n=114) were released in a 64-ha area containing restored prairies, grass-dominated fields, and crop fields in Floyd County, Iowa, USA, and two 1,000 m linear north-south sections of grass-dominated roadside along secondary roads (~ 35 ha) with different proximity to prairie habitat in rural Story County, Iowa. Radio-tagged or untagged monarchs were released in areas with high-density, low-density, and zero density of forage and oviposition resources, as well as on habitat edges between high and zero-density habitats. Monarchs were observed for one hour. Radio-tagged individuals that flew beyond visual detection were relocated using handheld radio telemetry.
- Monarchs moved within and between habitat classes and typically performed up-wind search behavior. Monarchs successfully located resources, with some flying over 500 m to find high-density areas, providing evidence that the monarch's perceptual distance is > 100 m. Regardless of habitat class or field site, most step lengths were < 50 m, and turn angles were directional. Large steps (≥ 50 m) crossing habitat boundaries occurred with approximately half of the monarchs, which may indicate initiation of long-range searches for suitable habitat, consistent with their vagile behavior. Establishing habitat patches 50 m apart in agricultural landscapes would facilitate efficient movement.
- This study provides an extensive dataset of directly observed breeding-season monarch butterflies to assess the utilization of agricultural landscapes. Documentation of step lengths > 50 m in complex, agricultural landscapes would not have been possible without the aid of radio telemetry. Results provide improved estimates of perceptual range and flight patterns within and between habitat patches that support models that simulate natural population dynamics to enable conservation planning at a landscape scale.
Notes
Funding provided by: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100005825
Award Number: 2018-67013-27541: Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Pollinator Health Program
Funding provided by: Garden Club of America
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100005839
Award Number: Board of Associates Centennial Pollinator Fellowship
Funding provided by: Holohil Grant Program*
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Funding provided by: Iowa State University
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100009227
Award Number: College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Funding provided by: Iowa State University
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100009227
Award Number: Iowa State University Foundation
Funding provided by: Iowa Monarch Conservation Consortium*
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Additional details
Related works
- Is derived from
- 10.5061/dryad.0cfxpnw3f (DOI)