Monarch Butterfly Migration Update: March 7, 2003

Today's Report Includes:

• Field Notes from Mexico by Dr. Bill Calvert
• Un Bosque Lleno de Mariposas
• Challenge Question #9
• Flying With the Butterflies by Carol Cullar
• Compare and Contrast Ideas: Similes, Metaphors and Analogies
• Can You Spot the Cause? Discussion of Challenge Question #8
• Causes of Deforestation: Forest Conversion to Agriculture
• Alternare Workshops Teach Soil and Water Conservation
• First Maps of the Season: Overwintering Monarchs & Milkweed
• Please Report Your Observations!

March 4, 2003: Un Bosque Lleno de Mariposas

Photos Copyright Dr. Lincoln Brower, Sweet Briar College

"The forest of Chincua was filled with butterflies sauntering forth from the colony, nectaring, drinking, but mainly just flying through the forest. If I were given the task of decorating a mountain forest I couldn’t conceive of a better arrangement than the green-blue fir trees, peppered with bright red salvias and giant thistles, saturated purple and yellow senicios, and butterflies softly and lazily gliding through it.

"The beauty that we witnessed may not portend well for the monarchs, however. It hasn’t rained in eastern Michoacan this year. The air is thoroughly dry, although somewhat cool. The landscape is parched, dried out. Fine dust is kicked up by natives, tourists, and their horses, and dust coats the vegetation along the trails.

"The two colonies are breaking apart, saltating down the canyon. They have moved 300-500 meters since last Tuesday. What appears to us as butterflies lazily gliding through the forest, may in fact be a more desperate situation: Butterflies low on fat reserves searching for something to eat and drink.

"The tempo of mating has definitely picked up. Pairs float down constantly. The ground struggle is everywhere visible. In the next three weeks, a relatively short time, these butterflies will vacate their winter haunt and begin the re-colonization of North America. An ambitious project, to be certain."

Challenge Question #9:
"Explain what Dr. Calvert means when he says, 'In the next three weeks, a relatively short time, these butterflies will vacate their winter haunt and begin the re-colonization of North America. An ambitious project, to be certain.'"

(To respond to this question, please follow the instructions below.)

Here's an actual photo of the front edge of the Valle de Bravo flow, which demonstrates the use of the warmth of the highway and the lowness of the butterflies' flight, using the lift created by "ground effect." Carol Cullar

• Read Carol Cullar’s Observations in Full

New! Reading and Writing Connections

• Compare and Contrast Ideas: Similes, Metaphors and Analogies

Can You Spot the Cause?
Discussion of Challenge Question #8
We challenged you to look at these pictures and identify a significant cause of deforestation in the monarch region.

First graders Sonia and Emilze at Berry Elementary Environmental Science Magnet School in Houston, Texas think, "The cause of deforestation in the pictures is farming and housing.” Mrs. Swentzel's third grade class from Stanhope, NJ, said they studied the pictures carefully. “The students feel that the main cause of deforestation is from cutting down the forest so that the people of the area can use the land for farming. The pattern shows little fields sectioned off much like we see here in our area of Sussex County in North Eastern NJ,” they noticed.

Causes of Deforestation
Forest Conversion to Agriculture
The students are correct in noting that the forests on steep mountainsides shown in the pictures above were cut down for homes and fields. Such steep slopes are not appropriate for the production of corn and other food crops. The native vegetation cover is forest. However, increasing human demands for land pushes people and their crops ever-higher on the mountainsides.

"Corn is not worth cultivating." (English) (Spanish) (Viewing Tips)

"This is the size of the corn, so you can see it's not worth cultivating," says Jose Luis Alvaez, pointing to a stubby ear of corn only 3 inches long. Jose Luis is the Director of the Michoacan Reforestation Project (MRP). He explained that farmers are fighting a losing battle when they convert forest to agriculture. The expensive fertilizers needed on the poor soil make corn more expensive to produce that it’s worth. MRP encourages reforestation of these lands.

"70% of the natural land cover is forest in Michoacan." (English) (Spanish) (Viewing Tips)

"Seventy percent of the natural land cover is forest in Michoacan. So that means that if you plant forests, you have no need for using insecticides, fertilizers or watering it because we have a perfect rainy season for forests." (See two video clips on web, in both Spanish and English.)

Deforestation causes erosion, which muddies the water supply (English) (Spanish)

Deforestation is also causing severe erosion. During the dry season it isn’t obvious how deforestation affects the water supply, but MRP’s Ed Rashin explains. "The water in this stream is running very clear right now, but if you were here during the rainy season what you’d see is a torrent of mud and water coming down from the eroded hillsides. That’s another reason why we need reforested land."

It is not only the monarchs who need the forests! "Local inhabitants, especially women, consider water scarcity their main environmental problem," say Monica Misserie and Lincoln Brower. "Water shortages during the dry months are becoming more and more critical."

In next week’s update, we’ll show how Journey North students are helping MRP's deforestation efforts in the monarch region.

Link to Overwintering Data	Link to Milkweed Data

WE NEED YOUR HELP:
Please report your observations now so these maps will be complete!

1. Address an e-mail message to: jn-challenge-monarch@learner.org
2. In the Subject Line of your message write: Challenge Question #8
3. In the body of your message, answer the question above.

The Next Monarch Butterfly Migration Update Will Be Posted on March 14, 2003

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