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Monarch Butterfly Larval Monitoring (Image 1)
Caption:
A participant in the Monarch Butterfly Larval Monitoring Project workshop observes monarch eggs in preparation for field monitoring. [One of seven related images; see also, Monarch Butterfly Larval Monitoring—Image 2 thru 7.]
This research was supported under National Science Foundation grant ESI 01-04600.
More about this Image:
As part of her NSF-supported Monarch Butterfly Larval Monitoring Project, Dr. Karen Oberhauser of the University of Minnesota is implementing a nationwide citizen science project focused on the lifecycle of monarch butterflies. Dr. Oberhauser and other researchers from the university are training naturalists and environmental educators throughout the United States at 11 host sites. Participants in the first round of training will then train volunteer monitors. The target audience for volunteers is adult/child teams. The teams will monitor a field or patch of milkweed plants—the food plant of monarch caterpillars—for the entire summer. They will count eggs and caterpillars also known as larvae, with the entire group surveying a grand total of more than 25,000 milkweed plants each week.
The project website shows temporal and spatial data and will provide interpretations of volunteer observations. List servers support the project and augment a monthly newsletter and the website. In addition, mini exhibits have been created to highlight the project at participating nature centers. These exhibits focus on monarch and insect ecology and conservation, as well as local and population-wide monitoring efforts. It is estimated that 90-150 nature centers will participate in the regional training and they in turn, will train almost 5,000 volunteers.
(Preview Only)
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| Credit: |
Credit Karen Oberhauser, University of Minnesota |
| Year of Image: |
2002 |
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Categories:
EDUCATION / Informal Science Education
Formats Available:
Restrictions:
No additional restrictions--beyond NSF's general restrictions--have been placed on this image. For a list of general restrictions that apply to this and all images in the NSF Image Library, see the section "Conditions".
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