Abstract
This paper presents a synopsis of the challenges and limitations presented by existing and emerging land use/land cover (LULC) digital data sets when used to analyze the extent, habitat quality, and LULC changes of the monarch (Danaus plexippus) migratory habitat across the United States of America (US) and Mexico. First, the characteristics, state of the knowledge, and issues related to this habitat are presented. Then, the characteristics of the existing and emerging LULC digital data sets with global or cross-border coverage are listed, followed by the data sets that cover only the US or Mexico. Later, we discuss the challenges for determining the extent, habitat quality, and LULC changes in the monarchs’ migratory habitat when using these LULC data sets in conjunction with the current state of the knowledge of the monarchs’ ecology, behavior, and foraging/roosting plants used during their migration. We point to approaches to address some of these challenges, which can be categorized into: (a) LULC data set characteristics and availability; (b) availability of ancillary land management information; (c) ability to construct accurate forage suitability indices for their migration habitat; and (d) level of knowledge of the ecological and behavioral patterns of the monarchs during their journey.
Highlights
Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) are a unique species as a trinational cross-border migrant with eastern populations traveling over 4000 km from the Great Lakes in Southern Canada to overwintering sites in the Oyamel (Abies religiosa) forests of Central Mexico [1,2]
The INEGI land use/land cover (LULC) maps were used as training and validation data sets (242,170 samples), and the product has shown an overall accuracy of 71% [60]
The issues that create challenges and limitations to these assessments can be categorized into: (a) LULC data sets characteristics and temporal availability; (b) availability of ancillary land management information; (c) ability to construct accurate forage suitability indices based on knowledge of the phenology and abundance of plant species used by monarchs during their migration; and (d) level of knowledge of the ecological and behavioral patterns of the monarch during their journey
Summary
Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) are a unique species as a trinational cross-border migrant with eastern populations traveling over 4000 km from the Great Lakes in Southern Canada to overwintering sites in the Oyamel (Abies religiosa) forests of Central Mexico [1,2]. Renowned as providing large cultural ecosystem services, the monarch has become the state insect of seven states in the United States of America (US), the official insect of Quebec, Canada and the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve (MBBR) in Michoacán, Mexico was declared a UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) world heritage site in 2008. Stressing their importance, the White House included monarch butterflies in their pollinator conservation priority behind the honeybee [3]. Some research attributes the declines in conducive migratory habitat as responsible for the declines in monarchs’
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