Northern CA PPSR Projects 1

Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count

• Organization Name

  Xerces Society
• Project Website

  http://www.xerces.org/butterfly-conservation/western-monarch-thanksgiving-count/
• Organization Website

  http://www.xerces.org
• Partners

  Cal Poly; National Parks Service; California Monarch Campaign
• Contact Name

  Mía Monroe
• Contact Email

  muirmia@aol.com
• Contact Phone

  (415)388-2596
• Other Contact Information

  http://monarchnet.uga.edu/Partners/WMTC/index.htm

• Project Purpose (taken from project materials)

  Census Western Monarch colonies at a number of locations along the California coast and help address questions about natal grounds for the migratory generation in the west and other factors relevant to monarch butterfly migration

• Participant Activities

  Collect data on the status of monarch populations overwintering along the California coast. The survey is conducted over a two-week period around the (American) Thanksgiving weekend in November, as well as around New Years.

  Volunteers visit colonies near them during the early morning while monarchs are non-mobile. They can use binoculars to view clusters and estimate the number of monarchs per cluster, then extrapolate that to the remainder of the colony to derive an estimate of colony size.

  Volunteers record the following survey data at each site using the standardized data form: date, site, observers, time spent searching for clusters, count time start and end, presence of nectar and water sources, and observations of tagged or mating monarch butterflies.

• Data Entry

  • Data Sheets
• Other Participant Activities

  N / A
• System Studied

  • Invertebrates
• Geographic Scope

  Statewide
• Region

  All (see 'geographic scope')
• Location

  Western Monarch wintering sites along the California Coast
• Location - Map

  N / A
• Time Commitment

  • Once a year
• Volunteer Qualifications

  Binoculars and minimal monitoring equipment

• Volunteer Training

  N / A
• Cost to Participant

  N / A
• How will the findings be used?

  Data, reports and resulting scientific publications are available on the website

• Other Information

  Surveys should be conducted at least once per season, although twice or more is preferred. If you can conduct only one survey this winter, it should be done during the week of Thanksgiving. If you can complete additional surveys, the next priority date is the week of January first (a New Years count). If you want to conduct more than these two surveys, feel free to establish weekly, bi-weekly or monthly schedules throughout the Monarch overwintering season (November through the first week of March). Even if you conduct surveys throughout the season, it is important to include counts at Thanksgiving and around New Years so we can compare population sizes among the sites.
  Surveys should be conducted by at least two observers in the mornings while temperatures are low (usually below 13C or 55F) and monarch butterflies are still clustered.

• Photo

  N / A
• last update:

  N / A