Releasing Monarchs
Bob Greback
bgreback at state.de.us
Fri May 23 09:25:20 EDT 1997
> Is using a migratory species (or any species) "safe" as an example for
activities
similar to that for Hans's release, i.e. would a newcomer to butterflies take
it as standard practice, think it's a good idea and apply it wholesale to
any species including species occurring in fragmented metapopulations?<
I was not suggesting this as a justification as a butterfly release standard
across the lepidotpera, although I don't see the practicality of worrying
about it. How many of us have the time money or finesse to find a confined,
fractured (you pick the term) population and then rear a population, release
it into the natural confined population for numerous consecutive generations
just to see if we might effect a change. And who amongst us has the time,
energy, knowledge, or money to accurately measure this change and consequently
prove causation. The list of variables against proving the introduced
population caused any change would be staggering. And to what purpose? A
newcomer to Lepidoptery could not.
> I still feel the time and effort would be far better spent if directed
towards habitat conservation<
Conservation is the key!
Bob Greback
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