[Leps-l] monarchs, reversal of orientation and overwintering temperatures

Stan Gorodenski stanlep at commspeed.net
Thu Feb 21 22:38:40 EST 2013



On 2/21/2013 7:11 PM, Paul Cherubini wrote:
> Doug and Chip:
>
> I havn't read the original paper yet, but from reading the
> abstract, fall migrant monarchs exposed to 24 days of chilly
> temperatures flew north when tethered in a flight simulator:
> http://reppertlab.org/tools/flight-simulator/
>
> So the study does not actually demonstrate the direction(s)
> the cold treated butterflies would fly if they were released
> into the wild. So I do not see how the authors can legitimately
> make this claim: "Our discovery that coldness triggers the
> northward flight direction in spring remigrants solves one of the
> long-standing mysteries of the monarch migration."
>    

You have a good point. Do I recall correctly your release program to 
determine the migratory patterns of the Monarch being criticized (by 
researchers of the status of these authors) for somewhat the same reasons?
Stan

> Now on the basis of that crude experiment, look at what
> the science news articles and the lead author of the study
> are telling the public:
>
> http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130221141259.htm
> Coldness Triggers Northward Flight in Monarch Butterflies:
> Migration Cycle May Be Vulnerable to Global Climate Change
>
> "The temperature of the microenvironment at the overwintering
> sites is a critical component for the completion of the migration
> cycle," said Steven M. Reppert, MD, professor of neurobiology
> and senior author of the study. "Without this thermal
> stimulus, the annual migration cycle would be broken,
> and we could have lost one of the most intriguing
> biological phenomena in the world."
>
> and
>
> "The more we learn, the clearer it becomes that the
> monarch migration is a uniquely fragile biological
> process," said Reppert. "Understanding how it
> works means we'll be better able to protect this
> iconic system from external threats such as global
> warming."
>
> Googling "monarch butterfly cold" will bring up
> many more articles about this study.
>
> Paul Cherubini
> El Dorado, Calif.
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>    



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