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Digital Data for Land and climate change in Mexico and Texas reveals small effects on migratory habitat of monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus).

March 28, 2024

The decline of the iconic monarch butterfly in North America has motivated research on the impacts of land use and land cover (LULC) change and climate variability on monarch habitat and population dynamics. We investigated spring and fall trends in LULC, milkweed and nectar resources over a 20-year period, and ~30 years of climate variables in Mexico and Texas, a key region supporting spring and fall migration during monarchs annual life cycle. We estimated a 2.9% decline in milkweed in Texas, but little to no change in Mexico. Fall and spring nectar resources declined

Publication Year 2024
Title Digital Data for Land and climate change in Mexico and Texas reveals small effects on migratory habitat of monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus).
DOI 10.5066/P1MUA57V
Authors James (Jay) E. Diffendorfer, Francisco Botello, Mark A Drummond, Zachary H Ancona, Lucila M Corro, Wayne E Thogmartin, Peter C Ibsen, Rafael Moreno-Sanchez, Laura Lukens, Victor Sánchez-Cordero
Product Type Data Release
Record Source USGS Asset Identifier Service (AIS)
USGS Organization Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center
Rights This work is marked with CC0 1.0 Universal
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