Mowing for Monarchs
Contributed by: Gabe Knowles (he/him)
Keywords: Agriculture, Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation, Disturbance, Ecology, Environmental change, Experimental, Family education, Field, First generation, Grassland, Income, Interactions, North America, Plants, Population cycles, Predator-Prey, Restoration, Societal Relevance, Terrestrial
Slides
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View and download in google slides here.
Resources
There are two Data Nugget activities about this research that explore the research and dataset.
Notes
Slide 1: Researcher’s Background
Gabe is an elementary teacher and Research Experience for Teachers (RET) fellow at the W.K. Kellogg Biological Station who conducted research on monarch butterfly ecology and conservation with scientists from the Landis Lab at Michigan State University.
PB: Why did you become a biologist?
GK: For as long as I can remember I have been curious about the natural world, and I find myself drawn to exploring the great outdoors to learn more about the world we live in.
PB: What is your favorite part about your job?
GK: I enjoy being outside making observations and collecting data related to my research. I also enjoy analyzing and interpreting the data to make sense of my observations.
PB: What obstacles have you overcome to get where you are?
GK: Neither of my parents graduated from high school. My mother had me at the age of sixteen, and while pregnant at the age of fifteen, my mother dropped out of high school, got a job and rented a home so that she could raise me as a child. So, I am a first generation high school and college graduate in my family.
PB: What advice do you have for aspiring biologists?
GK: Be curious and take advantage of opportunities to learn more about what you are interested. I have been fortunate to work as a wildlife biologist, park ranger, STEM specialist, and RET fellow. All because I followed what I am curious and passionate about.
PB: Do you feel that any dimension of your identity is invisible or under-represented/marginalized in STEM?
GK: No
PB: Can you elaborate on your answer above?
GK: I am the first person in my family to graduate from high school and college. Also, my mother had me at sixteen years of age, she dropped out of high school to get a job, rent a home, etc. in order to support us as a family. As a young child my parents were poor, and gradually over time were able to earn their GED and climb out of poverty.
Slide 2: Research Overview
Take home message of study
Monarch butterflies prefer to lay eggs on younger milkweed plants and younger milkweed plants may have less predators. The researchers developed a method of mowing milkweed patches to observe regrowth, predator populations and monarch egg/caterpillar presence.
Study system
There are many different species that eat monarch butterfly eggs and young caterpillars. These are just a few of the species that Gabe observed during the experiment.
Slide 3: Key Research Points
Main figure
Results from Gabe’s studies show that milkweed in patches that had not been mowed have fewer monarch butterfly eggs on them than patches that had been mowed (top figure). Patches that were mowed at the beginning of the season had fewer predators observed on them during the beginning of the experiment, but these numbers rapidly increased by week 4 (bottom figure).
Societal Relevance
Insects such as butterflies are important pollinators in many different ecosystems. As we continue to change the world around us, we need to make sure we are learning how our actions impact organisms of all sizes because everything is interconnected in an ecosystem. With a reduction in pollinators, we would also see a reduction in biodiversity, as less pollination would happen, hindering plant reproduction. Many of our crops are pollinated by insects, so we also need to be careful to monitor insect populations that are important for food systems as well.
