A trans‐national monarch butterfly population model and implications for regional conservation priorities |
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| Authors: | KAREN OBERHAUSER RUSCENA WIEDERHOLT JAY E DIFFENDORFER DARIUS SEMMENS LESLIE RIES WAYNE E THOGMARTIN LAURA LOPEZ‐HOFFMAN BRICE SEMMENS |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, University of Minnesota, St Paul, Minnesota, U.S.A.;2. School of Natural Resources and the Environment and Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, U.S.A.;3. U.S. Geological Survey, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center, Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.;4. Department of Biology, Georgetown University, Washington, District of Columbia, U.S.A.;5. U.S. Geological Survey, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, La Crosse, Wisconsin, U.S.A.;6. Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, La Jolla, California, U.S.A. |
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| Abstract: | 1. The monarch has undergone considerable population declines over the past decade, and the governments of Mexico, Canada, and the United States have agreed to work together to conserve the species. 2. Given limited resources, understanding where to focus conservation action is key for widespread species like monarchs. To support planning for continental‐scale monarch habitat restoration, we address the question of where restoration efforts are likely to have the largest impacts on monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus Linn.) population growth rates. 3. We present a spatially explicit demographic model simulating the multi‐generational annual cycle of the eastern monarch population, and use the model to examine management scenarios, some of which focus on particular regions of North America. 4. Improving the monarch habitat in the north central or southern parts of the monarch range yields a slightly greater increase in the population growth rate than restoration in other regions. However, combining restoration efforts across multiple regions yields population growth rates above 1 with smaller simulated improvements in habitat per region than single‐region strategies. 5. S ynthesis and applications: These findings suggest that conservation investment in projects across the full monarch range will be more effective than focusing on one or a few regions, and will require international cooperation across many land use categories. |
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| Keywords: | Bayesian stage‐based matrix model conservation prioritisation Danaus plexippus management strategies population dynamics |
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