Volunteers needed to study the breeding season movements of monarch butterflies

[Runmede]

I've been reading "The Monarch Butterfly", by Dr. Fred Urquhart. He was a Canadian Scientist who studied Monarchs for over 50 years. He found the Monarch colonies in Mexico in the 70s.

This request was posted to Monarch Watch. A couple years ago, I participated in another research project by a graduate student from Canada. I am going to try to participate in this one. The only problem I have with this study is that they require specimens. I really, really don't like killing butterflies. But, I have to think of the greater good. The data will help conservation groups plan for future habitat.

http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/early/2010/07/08/rsbl.2010.0525.full
Monarch butterflies cross the Appalachians from the west to recolonize the east coast of North America

My name is Tyler Flockhart, I am a PhD student at the University of Guelph and I study the population dynamics of monarch butterflies. This coming summer I will be studying the movement of monarchs throughout the breeding season at sites across eastern North America and I am soliciting volunteers for two projects. The first project looks at how monarchs re-colonize the breeding range in the spring while the second looks at movement throughout the entire breeding season and early fall. Information from these projects will be used in population models to determine how monarch populations grow during the breeding season. Ultimately, this is one of the key pieces of information needed to guide conservation planning for monarchs. Volunteers would receive sampling instructions, storage envelopes, and data sheets to record their information. Please contact me privately at dflockha@uoguelph.ca or 519-265-7833 if you are interesting in volunteering or have further questions about these projects; I can send you a poster than explains each of the projects and time commitment each one requires. I look forward to hearing from you.
Best regards,
Tyler
D. T. Tyler Flockhart
Ph.D. Candidate
Department of Integrative Biology
University of Guelph
Guelph, ON, N1G5K6
Canada