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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Ames, Iowa » Corn Insects and Crop Genetics Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #388993
Research Project: Ecologically-based Management of Arthropods in the Maize Agroecosystem

Location: Corn Insects and Crop Genetics Research

Title: Monarch butterfly ecology, behavior, and vulnerabilities in North Central United States agricultural landscapes

Author
item GRANT, TYLER - Iowa State University
item FISHER, KELSEY - Iowa State University
item KRISHNAN, NIRANJANA - Iowa State University
item MULLINS, ALEXANDER - Iowa State University
item Hellmich Ii, Richard
item Sappington, Thomas
item ADELMAN, JAMES - Iowa State University
item COATS, JOEL - Iowa State University
item HARTZLER, ROBERT - Iowa State University
item PLEASANTS, JOHN - Iowa State University
item BRADBURY, STEVEN - Iowa State University

Submitted to: Bioscience
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/25/2022
Publication Date: 11/9/2022
Citation: Grant, T.J., Fisher, K.E., Krishnan, N., Mullins, A.N., Hellmich II, R.L., Sappington, T.W., Adelman, J.S., Coats, J.R., Hartzler, R.G., Pleasants, J.M., Bradbury, S.P. 2022. Monarch butterfly ecology, behavior, and vulnerabilities in North Central United States agricultural landscapes. Bioscience. 72(12):1176-1203. https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biac094.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biac094

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Based on declines of the eastern North American monarch population, the monarch is a candidate species for listing under the Endangered Species Act. Multiple factors are associated with the decline including loss of breeding and foraging habitat and pesticide use. Establishing habitat in agricultural landscapes of the north central USA is critical to increase reproductive productivity during the summer months. Our research integrated spatially-explicit modeling with empirical studies of monarch movement ecology and pesticide toxicology. Because of their mobility and patchy population structure, breeding monarchs are resilient to habitat fragmentation and pesticide use in north central agricultural landscapes. Adult recruitment can be enhanced to the extent new habitat increases connectivity in the landscape, even if new habitat is established next to crop fields treated with pesticides. Linking our results with continental scale models can advance understanding of how conservation actions in the north central USA impacts the North American population.