Monarch Migration Update: February 11, 2005
Today's Report Includes:
- Meet Dr. Bill Calvert: Our Telephone Tour Guide
- Testing 1,2,3: Can You Hear Dr. Calvert?
- Food, Water, Shelter, and SPACE: This Week's Focus
- Close Quarters: 15,000 Butterflies on a Branch
- Challenge Question #2: How Much Do 15,000 Butterflies Weigh?
- Try This! How Many Paper Clips Bend a Branch?
- Dr. Calvert Looks at Space from the Monarchs' Point of View
- How Much Space Does a Monarch Colony Need?
- Monarch Habitat in the News
- How News is Made: Monarch Scientists Respond
Meet Dr. Bill Calvert: Our Telephone Tour Guide
Dr. Bill Calvert was one of the first biologists to study the monarchs at their over-wintering sites in Mexico. He left his Texas home this week and headed to the monarch's winter home, where he'll spend most of the next six weeks leading tours. He's offered to call from Mexico with news and observations, as our special telephone tour guide.
Testing
1,2,3: Can You Hear Dr. Calvert?
Get your computer ready! We will record Dr. Calvert's phone reports as
MP3 audio files. (Text transcripts will also be included.) Here is an
introduction to Dr. Calvert, and a sample audio clip for testing:
| Introducing Dr. Bill Calvert |  |
 Listen to Dr, Calvert |
Sample
Audio Clip: A Million Monarchs Fill the Sky |
Food, Water, Shelter, and SPACE: This Week's Focus
This season, we're exploring the monarch overwintering phenomena by examining habitat--food, water, shelter, and space. This week, we'll take a close look at how much space the monarchs need to survive.
Close Quarters: 15,000 Butterflies on a Branch
Monarchs are famous for the spectacular colonies that they form. These photos were taken in Dec/Jan, the coldest months in the sanctuaries. The butterflies cluster the most closely when the temperatures are the coldest. They certainly are not using much space in these pictures! Some 15,000 butterflies can share a single branch--so many that the branch actually bends under their weight.
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Challenge Question #2
If the typical monarch weighs 500 mg, how much would a branch loaded with 15,000 butterflies weigh? (Give your answer in kilograms and in pounds. Also name another object that weighs the same amount, for comparison.)
(Please send us your answer! Simply follow the instructions below.)
Try This! How Many Paper Clips Bend a Branch?
- A monarch butterfly weighs a little less than a paper clip. How many paper clips can you string together to make a tree branch bend? Try it and let us know!
Dr. Calvert Looks at Space from the Monarch's Point of View
We caught Dr. Calvert before he left and asked him to describe the monarch's need for space in their winter habitat.
"Popular photos of monarchs overwintering in Mexico suggest that the butterflies are condensed into discreet colonies with well-defined borders at any time of the year. The butterflies appear to be surrounded by a sea of available fir trees," he said.
But pictures like these are misleading, he cautioned. Monarchs need far more space than meets the eye. Print Dr. Calvert's essay and mark up the text. What needs do monarchs have when selecting habitat that you didn't know about before? How many new examples can you add to your list? Dr. Calvert mentions something scientists do not yet understand about monarch habitat requirements. Can you find it?
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| Photos: Dr. Lincoln Brower, Sweet Briar College | ||
How Much Space Does a Monarch Colony Need?
During the coldest part of the season in a typical year, the colony at the Sierra Chincua Sanctuary might occupy only 1 to 1.5 hectares. (1 hectare = 2.47 acres.) However, over the course of the winter season, that colony might require 60 hectares. Here's a way to put the monarchs' need for space into perspective: On your school grounds, measure an area equal to the space the monarchs need during the winter. Then consider how the monarchs’ needs might affect the people who live nearby.
Monarch Habitat in the News
Last Friday, National Public Radio aired a news story about the monarch's overwintering area in Mexico. As its title suggests, the people who live in the region were the focus of the story:
Why do you think this title was chosen? How do humans and monarchs compete for space? What specific examples can you find in the story? Are there ways the local people benefit from sharing space with the monarchs?
How News is Made: Monarch Scientists Respond
Dr. Lincoln Brower and Dr. Linda Fink are presently studying monarch habitat in Mexico. After the radio story was aired, the scientists wrote a joint letter to express their views. What is the scientists' point of view? Why did they think it was important to write to the producers of the radio program?
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| Dr. Lincoln Brower | Dr. Linda Fink |
How to Respond to Today's Monarch Challenge Question
1. Address an e-mail message to: jn-challenge-monarch@learner.org
2. In the Subject Line of your message write: Challenge Question #2
3. In the body of your message, answer the question above.
The Next Monarch Migration Update Will Be Posted on February 18, 2005
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