PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

The people's choice: Americans would pay to help monarch butterflies

2013-10-29
(Press-News.org) Contact information: Ethan Alpern
ealpern@usgs.gov
703-648-4406
United States Geological Survey
The people's choice: Americans would pay to help monarch butterflies Americans place high value on butterfly royalty. A recent study suggests they are willing to support monarch butterfly conservation at high levels, up to about 6 ½ billion dollars if extrapolated to all U.S. households.

If even a small percentage of the population acted upon this reported willingness, the cumulative effort would likely translate into a large, untapped potential for conservation of the iconic butterfly.

Monarch butterfly populations have been declining across Mexico, California and other areas of the United States since 1999. A 2012 survey at the wintering grounds of monarchs in Mexico showed the lowest colony size ever recorded.

"The multigenerational migration of the monarch butterfly is considered one of the world's most spectacular natural events," said Jay Diffendorfer, a USGS scientist and the study's lead author. "However, managing migratory species is difficult because they can cross international borders and depend on many geographic areas for survival."

Much of the decline in monarch numbers has been blamed on the loss of milkweed, the native plants on which monarch caterpillars feed.

"While many factors may be affecting monarch numbers, breeding, migrating, and overwintering habitat loss are probably the main culprits," said Karen Oberhauser, a monarch biologist at the University of Minnesota and a co-author of the study. "In the U.S., the growing use of genetically-modified, herbicide-tolerant crops, such as corn and soybeans, has resulted in severe milkweed declines and thus loss of breeding habitat."

The authors suggest that the universal popularity of monarchs could encourage a market for monarch-friendly plants.

"This is the first nation-wide, published, economic valuation survey of the general public for an insect. The study indicates that economic values of monarch butterflies are potentially large enough to mobilize people for conservation planting and funding habitat conservation," said John Loomis, the lead economist on the study from Colorado State University.

"The life cycle of monarchs creates opportunities for untapped market-based conservation approaches," Diffendorfer continued. "Ordinary households, conservation organizations, and natural resource agencies can all plant milkweed and flowering plants to offset ongoing losses in the species' breeding habitat."

According to the annual survey of the National Gardening Association, households that identify as "do-it-yourself lawn and gardeners" spent $29.1 billion in related retail sales in 2012.

"By reallocating some of those purchases to monarch-friendly plants, people would be able to contribute to the conservation of the species as well as maintain a flower garden," said Oberhauser. "Helping restore the monarch's natural habitat, and potentially the species' abundance, is something that people can do at home by planting milkweed and other nectar plants."

Unfortunately, many plants purchased by gardeners have been treated with systemic insecticides that can kill both pollinators that consume the nectar, and caterpillars, like monarchs, that eat the leaves.

"This study shows that not only might consumers pay more for monarch-friendly milkweeds grown without systemic insecticides in the potting soil, but also that consumers might be more interested overall in buying nectar-producing plants or milkweeds if they knew a small percentage of sales will be donated to habitat conservation," said Diffendorfer.

The study, released today in Conservation Letters, was authored by researchers with the USGS, Colorado State University, the University of Minnesota, and others, who participated in a USGS John Wesley Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis working group.

INFORMATION:

About Monarch Butterflies

Monarchs are very popular in both society and throughout education. The monarch butterfly is currently the official insect or butterfly of seven different U.S. states, and is celebrated in festivals held across North America. Monarchs have been the focus of many school's science curricula as well as the subjects of multiple citizen-science projects.

END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

UCSB researcher documents the enduring contaminant legacy of the California gold rush

2013-10-29
UCSB researcher documents the enduring contaminant legacy of the California gold rush (Santa Barbara, Calif.) –– An unintended legacy of California's gold rush, which began in 1848, endures today in the form of mercury-laden sediment. New research ...

Moderate exercise not only treats, but prevents depression

2013-10-29
Moderate exercise not only treats, but prevents depression TORONTO, ON – Physical activity is being increasingly recognized as an effective tool to treat depression. PhD candidate George Mammen's review published in the October issue of the American ...

Using genetic algorithms to discover new nanostructured materials

2013-10-29
Using genetic algorithms to discover new nanostructured materials New York, NY—October 28, 2013: Researchers at Columbia Engineering, led by Chemical Engineering Professors Venkat Venkatasubramanian and Sanat Kumar, have developed a new approach to designing novel ...

Model virus structure shows why there's no cure for common cold

2013-10-29
Model virus structure shows why there's no cure for common cold MADISON, Wis. – In a pair of landmark studies that exploit the genetic sequencing of the "missing link" cold virus, rhinovirus C, scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have constructed ...

Common bias known as the 'endowment effect' not present in hunter-gatherer societies

2013-10-29
Common bias known as the 'endowment effect' not present in hunter-gatherer societies Centuries of economic theory have been based on one simple premise: when given a choice between two items, people make the rational decision and select the one they value more. ...

Researchers quantify toxic ocean conditions during major extinction 93.9 million years ago

2013-10-29
Researchers quantify toxic ocean conditions during major extinction 93.9 million years ago UC Riverside-led study points to an ancient oxygen-free and hydrogen sulfide-rich ocean that may foreshadow our future RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Oxygen in the atmosphere ...

Researchers detail possible resistance mechanisms of colorectal cancer to bevacizumab (Avastin)

2013-10-29
Researchers detail possible resistance mechanisms of colorectal cancer to bevacizumab (Avastin) A University of Colorado Cancer Center study published in the journal PLOS ONE shows that when colorectal cancer is targeted by the drug bevacizumab (Avastin), tumors ...

U of M researchers identify key proteins influencing major immune strategies

2013-10-29
U of M researchers identify key proteins influencing major immune strategies Findings could help define new vaccination applications MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL (October 27, 2013) – New research from the Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, ...

UT Dallas study shows experts' attitudes influence what children believe

2013-10-29
UT Dallas study shows experts' attitudes influence what children believe Children are more apt to believe a nice, non-expert than a mean expert according to researchers at The University of Texas at Dallas. In the study published in Developmental Science, ...

Microbiome in gut, mouth, and skin of low birth weight infants differentiate weeks after birth

2013-10-29
Microbiome in gut, mouth, and skin of low birth weight infants differentiate weeks after birth Low birth weight infants are host to numerous microorganisms immediately after birth, and the microbiomes of their mouths and gut start out very similar but differentiate ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Corpse flowers are threatened by spotty recordkeeping

Riding the AI wave toward rapid, precise ocean simulations

Are lifetimes of big appliances really shrinking?

Pink skies

Monkeys are world’s best yodellers - new research

Key differences between visual- and memory-led Alzheimer’s discovered

% weight loss targets in obesity management – is this the wrong objective?

An app can change how you see yourself at work

NYC speed cameras take six months to change driver behavior, effects vary by neighborhood, new study reveals

New research shows that propaganda is on the rise in China

Even the richest Americans face shorter lifespans than their European counterparts, study finds

Novel genes linked to rare childhood diarrhea

New computer model reveals how Bronze Age Scandinavians could have crossed the sea

Novel point-of-care technology delivers accurate HIV results in minutes

Researchers reveal key brain differences to explain why Ritalin helps improve focus in some more than others

Study finds nearly five-fold increase in hospitalizations for common cause of stroke

Study reveals how alcohol abuse damages cognition

Medicinal cannabis is linked to long-term benefits in health-related quality of life

Microplastics detected in cat placentas and fetuses during early pregnancy

Ancient amphibians as big as alligators died in mass mortality event in Triassic Wyoming

Scientists uncover the first clear evidence of air sacs in the fossilized bones of alvarezsaurian dinosaurs: the "hollow bones" which help modern day birds to fly

Alcohol makes male flies sexy

TB patients globally often incur "catastrophic costs" of up to $11,329 USD, despite many countries offering free treatment, with predominant drivers of cost being hospitalization and loss of income

Study links teen girls’ screen time to sleep disruptions and depression

Scientists unveil starfish-inspired wearable tech for heart monitoring

Footprints reveal prehistoric Scottish lagoons were stomping grounds for giant Jurassic dinosaurs

AI effectively predicts dementia risk in American Indian/Alaska Native elders

First guideline on newborn screening for cystic fibrosis calls for changes in practice to improve outcomes

Existing international law can help secure peace and security in outer space, study shows

Pinning down the process of West Nile virus transmission

[Press-News.org] The people's choice: Americans would pay to help monarch butterflies