Press, A. (2020, January 23). Monarch butterfly population critically low on California coast – again. Retrieved August 17, 2020, from https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/22/monarch-butterfly-population-decline-california-coast
The western monarch butterfly population is down to around 29,000 as of its annual survey, which is only 2,000 more than last year’s all time low recording of 27,000. This is staggeringly low when considering there were as many as 4.5 million of these butterflies in the 1980s. Their numbers are dropping drastically due to housing expansions and the increased use of harmful pesticides and herbicides. They are also negatively affected by climate change, which interferes with their instinctual migrating cycles.
I agree with this article that steps need to be taken to help out the conservation efforts to save the western monarch butterflies from possibly going extinct. It really struck me that if nothing is done, they could potentially be completely extinct in the next few decades. Also with global temperatures rising, I can only imagine that their 3,000 mile migration will be increasingly difficult and cause their numbers to fall even more. If we want to help this effort, I agree that we should work with state parks to create more habitats for the butterflies while they migrate and plant more milkweed, which they rely heavily on for survival.
I grew up learning about the iconic Monarch Butterfly. I had always thought that they were plentiful in their numbers, but to hear that they are endangered is saddening and I would have never thought that they were struggling. I really like your point about their migration, it would have never crossed my mind. How does this effect their ecosystem and how quickly did the numbers decline once the stressor of housing expansions introduced?
Thanks for your comment and questions! Their ecosystems have been greatly impacted by increased use of pesticides and housing expansions throughout California. This is particularly concerning for these butterflies because when migrating they return to the exact location they were the previous year, even to the same tree or bush. As for your other question, I have not been able to find the rate at which the population has declined, and I simply know that they once lived in numbers of over 4 million and now only live in around 30,000.