Monarch research and conservation update with Karen Oberhauser and Gail Morris.
location:
Saturday, February 25, 2017
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
This won't be a usual "sit-back-and-listen" session. We'll discuss
research topics that are relevant to monarch conservation, focusing
on those about which there is some controversy. In some cases, the
controversy results from misinformation, but in others, there are no
right answers. Bring an open mind and a willingness to share what
you know as we discuss topics such as the evidence that monarch
populations are declining, mass rearing and commercial sales of
monarchs, impacts of /Ascelpias curassavica/ on winter breeding, and
other topics.
Karen Oberhauser is a Professor in the Dept. of Fisheries, Wildlife
and Conservation Biology at the University of Minnesota, where she
and her students conduct research on several aspects of monarch
butterfly ecology. Her research depends on traditional lab and field
techniques, as well as the contributions of a variety of audiences
through citizen science. In 1996, she and graduate student Michelle
Prysby started a nationwide Citizen Science project called the
Monarch Larva Monitoring Project, which continues to engage hundreds
of volunteers throughout North America. Karen has authored over 90
papers on her research on monarchs, insect conservation, and citizen
science.
Karen is passionate about the conservation of the world’s
biodiversity, and believes that the connections her projects promote
between monarchs, humans, and the natural world promote meaningful
conservation action. She is the chair of the Monarch Joint Venture,
and a founding officer of the Monarch Butterfly Fund. In 2013, Karen
received a White House Champion of Change award for her work with
Citizen Science.
Gail is the Coordinator of the Southwest Monarch Study, a Citizen
Science project, studying the migration and breeding patterns of
monarch butterflies in Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, western
Colorado and the deserts of California. She is an alumni of Michigan
State University and the University of Notre Dame and the principal
author of “Status of /Danaus plexippus/ in Arizona” published in
June, 2015. Gail is a frequent workshop presenter and blogger on
monarch conservation in the Southwest bridging citizen scientists in
the field with the academic community and government agencies. She
is the Vice-President of the Monarch Butterfly Fund and a Monarch
Watch Conservation Specialist.
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