Hello naturalists! I’m looking to get some information that I will be including in my final project for my Multimedia Writing class. I am writing an article on monarch butterfly conservation and I am in need of input from professional sources. I am required to do some interview questions as part of my project.
If you would like to help out but would prefer to not put your answers in the form, feel free to message me or let me know if you’d prefer to communicate over email!
Firstly, I will need your first and last name and your job title so that I can properly credit the information.
Next, I have some questions.
What are some ways that the average person can help with conservation efforts, especially for monarch butterflies?
If you work for an organization that helps with conservation efforts, tell us what the organization is and what it does to benefit monarchs.
Those are the main two questions. I also have some optional bonus questions.
What does conservation entail?
Why is conservation important?
What are some reasons that species are becoming endangered?
How could the extinction of a species impact people?
I see where you are coming from in sending that link and thank you for sending it my way, but this isn’t just a research project where I am trying to get answers easily. I have been doing the research and I am specifically required to include interviews that complement the research I have been doing.
I am trying to find the resources for this. I have tried emailing professionals and have not yet received a response. As such, I am just trying to see if I can find resources on this forum. If someone prefers to email me or do the interview through Zoom instead of on the forum, they can let me know. Or if someone could direct me towards someone to interview then that would also be great. Just trying to find some credible primary sources.
Yeah, I’d say posting the questions like in the original post and using language which assumes people will respond is not really great for the forum. Asking for interested people to email you would be better. But even then, the forum is really a place to start a discussion, not search for sources.
Best would be to contact organizations directly and/or check out top identifiers/observers of monarchs on iNat and see if any do monarch conservation work, then contact them on iNat.
Yeah, that makes sense. And, unfortunately, I’ve been reaching out to several organizations and have not received any responses. That is why I posted here to try and find sources to interview.
Finding identifiers and observers to check and see if they’ve done monarch conservation work sounds like a good idea – I’ll look into that! Thank you
you’re probably not getting any responses because you really haven’t identified yourself and why you need to gather this kind of information for a multimedia writing class.
assuming you’re at least a college student, a proper introduction should include your own name, school, and the teacher in charge of your class, along with contact info for both you and your teacher. you should say a little more about what particular aspects of monarch conservation you’re interested in.
if you’re in high school or below, you should also say so. but in this case, i wouldn’t reach out to randos on the internet for info. it would be much better to start out by reaching out to local government agencies, public universities, and other local public or nonprofit organizations. give them at least a week or two to respond. and if that doesn’t work, try researching something else.
I have actually been including that information regarding myself and my college class in my private emails to recognized organizations. I just don’t have that information on this specific post because it is viewable by the general public and I don’t want that information freely available to all unknown people on the forums. But yes, I agree that including that information in private correspondences is a good approach.
I’m going to attempt answering those questions. Firstly, I must say I’ve not seen a Monarch butterfly before except from the computer. From what I’ve read in the internet, Monarch butterflies are migratory and congregate in enormous number at some times of the year. I don’t know if the migration is a compulsory behavior. It is likely forced by seasonal changes. Some say Monarch butterflies are decreasing in population size. Maybe people or scientists noticed a change in numbers. Some suggest the planting of tropical milkweeds classified as non-native to USA is causing a bacterial disease or virus that is infecting some populations’ fitness in survival and propagation. There is likely many farms supply butterflies to growers. It is an enterprise.
It is strange to me, that a butterfly species which is widely known to man may go extinct. If there is a population decline, maybe it is just seasonal fluctuations or due to various reasons, such as urbanisation. or perhaps it is disinformation, as some enterprises could gain an advantage through the narrative, same as in the honey bees industries. However, it may be really true that insects are declining. and it is good to know why. Some technologies are not available to non-scientists. We don’t have the capability to determine the bacterial pathogen.
Conservation is probably like counting butterflies. Devising strategies to include nature corridors, to make sure cities have at least met the minimum public park space as recommended by United Nations. I think it is the organisation or was it WHO…Anyway, I saw a figure once from UN. But to be conservative, we need to double the figures for nature areas, because some politicians will really go for the minimum number. I think USA should have a lot of land spaces, especially outside cities.
I read that the new insecticides called Neonicotinoids are very effective in killing many insects through a systemic pathway. From the root zones to the whole plant. The insecticidal effect is 2 months.
I’ll stop here. I’m not a professional. I’m not leaving my real name and contacts online, as online scammers are many these days.
The easiest thing an “ average person “ can help is to walk the roadsides that are about to get mowed down, that have milkweed with caterpillars and/or eggs. Collect the caterpillars and rehome them to safer milkweeds.
