Science project at risk through lack of funds

PRESS RELEASE

Science project at risk through lack of funds

A science project open to all New Zealanders and used by many primary schools is at risk due to lack of funding.

The tagging of Monarch butterflies to show their overwintering behaviour and an indication of climate change started as a voluntary project. As more ‘citizen scientists’ have been recruited the project has grown and it now needs financial support.

“Our application to NZ Lottery Grants Board has been declined,” said Jacqui Knight of the Monarch Butterfly NZ Trust. “The data capture method is breakthrough technology, but needs modifications, and we hoped to have one person paid to manage it, rather than have it run by volunteers.”

She said the project is now well accepted by schools and families.

“Last year there was a noticeable decline in the number of Monarch butterflies about and this trend has continued so far this spring,” she said. “We would like to ensure the baseline data is accurate, and we would also like to encourage other schools to participate–it is free for them and brings real science into the classroom.”

While visiting New Zealand earlier this year Dr Barrie Frost, from Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada, spoke highly of the efforts of NZ’s ‘citizen scientists’ who have been contributing to the study.

Dr Frost is a visual neuroscientist who has pioneered research into how our brains see and hear, and how animals like monarch butterflies and seabirds navigate amazing distances.

The Trust has involved ‘citizen scientists’ for three years now–schoolchildren, householders, gardeners, walkers–to report sightings as the Monarchs follow their annual migration. A degree is not needed; anyone can take part.

Dr Frost said that if we are to conserve species effectively, it is vital we monitor how they are faring.

“The status of our flora and fauna depends on the effects of climate change, pollution, alien species and land management,” he said. “We need to know more about our insects to predict the impacts of such change, and to develop an appropriate response.”

Butterflies are uniquely placed to act as indicators of environmental change.

“By tagging and following Monarchs, we can use them as indicators of the status of our environment,” agreed Dr Mark Hauber, who works in the field of Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour at both the University of Auckland and at Hunter College of the City University of New York.

“Tagging serves a dual purpose,” he said. “Not simply by collecting critical data, but also by introducing people to the method and purpose of scientific investigation.”

He said that the Monarch Butterfly Trust represents the best of what citizen science can offer–an outreach based organisation of natural historians and nature enthusiasts–who, when they come together, provide a force unmatched by institutional scientific efforts.

“In the past I have seen firsthand the amount of critically valuable data collected, collated, and communicated by the Trust and its members. The Monarchs represent a unique natural resource in NZ in that while their feeding habitat as caterpillars is entirely dependent on human support, in turn their function as significant pollinators benefits many native plants, too.

Understanding where Monarchs go in the breeding and non-breeding season is also of critical scientific value in that continental populations of Monarchs are clearly migratory (e.g. USA, Australia), while insular populations are clearly sedentary. The puzzle to solve now is what happens on NZ islands which cover thousands of kilometres north-south.

The most exciting result recorded to date has been the flight of one Monarch from near Turangi to Whangarei, a distance of some 300 kilometres over a few weeks.

The butterflies typically form large clusters, sometimes containing hundreds or thousands of butterflies, on trees in well-sheltered areas during the colder winter months. Until the Trust started tracking Monarchs there was little research being done as to why butterflies appeared to be retreating from urban areas of NZ.

“This is important,” says Jacqui. “Butterflies are pollinators–we need to know why they are becoming less common, before they disappear altogether. Already there are major concerns for our endemic species such as the Forest Ringlet, and the beautiful Red Admiral.”

The Trust, which has charitable status, is hopeful a corporate sponsor might come on board to help the project continue.

“And we are keen to involve gardeners, nature-lovers, trampers, schools, and home-schooled children in both tagging and sighting,” continued Jacqui. “All the information how to be involved is on the Monarch Butterfly NZ Trust website: www.monarch.org.nz.

ENDS

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