Monarch butterflies in North America have become one of the most beloved insects on the continent due to their flashy appearance and extraordinary movement, but the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the world’s most comprehensive scientific institution for species status. It is classified as an endangered species by.
The decision was made after decades of population decline, coupled with the need for caterpillars and climate change in the forests where adults spend the winter, the assessment said. The author reviewed about 100 studies, interviewed experts, and applied criteria from the Group’s Red List of Endangered Species to make decisions.
Karen Oberhauser, a conservation biologist at the University of Wisconsin who studied the monarch, said: It has contributed to the evaluation for over 35 years. “It’s sad that they need that help, but this designation has come to be justified.”
The number of western monarchs living west of the Rocky Mountains plummeted by an estimated 99.9% between the 1980s and 2021. They have rebounded somewhat this year, but are in great danger. The eastern monarchs, which make up the majority of North America’s population, declined 84% between 1996 and 2014. The new designation of endangered species covers both populations.
In 2020, U.S. wildlife authorities discovered that the monarch was endangered, but refused to add it to the endangered species list because it stated that protection of other species would be prioritized. did.
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Monarch larvae rely on milkweed, the only plant they can eat. After leaving the winterlands, where most monarchs are concentrated in just a few hectares of forest in central Mexico, women lay eggs on milkweed plants on multi-generational journeys from Texas to Canada.
Habitat destruction in these Mexican forests was an early threat, said Anna Walker, an entomologist at the New Mexico Biopark Association, who led the assessment. The Mexican government intervened to create a reserve in 1986 and expand it in 2000. Concerns remain about illegal logging and disease, but her conservation efforts have very effectively stopped the loss of wintering habitat, she said.
However, the assessment pointed out that a new problem had arisen. American farmers turned to crops that were genetically modified to withstand the herbicide glyphosate used in the herbicide Roundup.
“Glyphosate was suddenly sprayed onto a vast farm in the Midwest,” Walker said. “It has removed many milkweed plants on which the Monarch Caterpillar depends.”
Second, climate change can exacerbate storms, droughts and other such events and have a devastating impact on already vulnerable people. The hot, dry spring season in the South is of special interest to monarch professionals. Add to a wider range of questions about climate change that disrupts the ancient cycle, such as when plants germinate.
“This kind of mismatch is beginning to be seen between when the insects are ready to start spring and when the plants are ready,” Walker said. “There are many unknowns.”
Recent studies have complicated the situation and found that the number of summer monarchs decreased in some areas and increased in others. But even those authors have shown that silver linings can be short-lived, warning that “accelerated climate change can pose an increased threat.”
The Red List decision limits the list of endangered species to mobile monarchs. This applies to North American monarchs. It was born from the initial evaluation of these butterflies groups. Wider species include non-migratory varieties from the Caribbean and southern Mexico to northern South America.
The movement of monarch butterflies in North America is considered one of the wonders of nature. Small insects have flown thousands of miles north for several generations, returning in just one generation, with a butterfly probably flying over 2,500 miles.
Monarch experts are keen to seek the help of the general public to save the seeds.Their message: Plant native milkweed in your area, which probably means Avoid tropical milkweed (Especially in the South, it can be more harmful than good). Wetland Milkweed Is an attractive, easy-to-grow variety that grows naturally in all but the westernmost part of the continental United States. It’s for spawning and caterpillars. Butterflies need nectar, so plant native flowers that bloom when the monarch is in your area.
Dr. Oberhauser acknowledges that such interventions have contributed to population stabilization in recent years.
“We hold ourselves in numbers that are not completely sustainable,” she said. “But if it weren’t for all these efforts on the part of many different organizations and individuals, I think the numbers would be even smaller.”
The latest IUCN Red List update was also bad news for sturgeon. All surviving species have been endangered since 85% in 2009. The Chinese fish, the Janze sturgeon, is endangered from endangered. wild.
Meanwhile, the number of tigers showed a 40% increase from the previous assessment. We attribute this to better counts combined with stable or increasing numbers of tissues.
Emily Antes Contribution report.