Subject: Isotope Announcement

From: Monarch Watch <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 24 Jun 1996 20:32:24 -0500

SECOND ANNOUNCEMENT
New Research Project - Volunteers Needed!

Although we have a large number of applicants (>70 from 31 states and
provinces) for the following project, we still need applicants from the
following states and provinces: North Dakota, Virginia, North Carolina,
Kentucky, Louisiana, Connecticut, Iowa, New Mexico, Wyoming, Manitoba,
Saskatchewan.  Additional applicants are needed from the following states:
Florida, Georgia, New Jersey, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Maryland,
Missouri, Michigan, Montana, Rhode Island amd South Carolina. Because of
the late delivery of the Monarch Watch Season Summary, which also contains
this announcement, the deadline for the applications has been extended to
10 July.

TRACKING MONARCH MIGRATION WITH HYDROGEN ISOTOPES

        Local and long distance movements of organisms have been tracked by
biologists with a wide variety of marking systems. All of these methods
require an initial capture and usually some form of  recapture.  The amount
of data recovered  per unit effort is often very limited. It would be ideal
to be able to obtain information on the origin and movement of every
individual. This may now be possible. Recently, a new and promising means
of tracking migratory species using stable hydrogen isotopes as a chemical
signature has been developed by researchers at Environment Canada. However,
to apply this technique to monarchs, we need volunteers to raise monarchs
in 35 eastern states and provinces.

        Deuterium, a stable isotope of hydrogen occurs naturally in
rainwater across North America. The deuterium content of rain varies
predictably from region to region, depending on climate and the prevailing
source of moisture that makes up the rainfall. A strong deuterium
concentration gradient in rainwater occurs across the North American
continent as a result of climatic and hydrologic patterns. Previous studies
have shown that the deuterium content of rain is reflected in tissues of
shallow rooted plants. In turn, insects that feed on these plants
incorporate that deuterium signal in their body parts. This is pretty
nifty, and means that plants and insects  raised in Minnesota will have
different deuterium contents in their body tissues from those raised in
Kansas, Georgia, or Quebec. These differences in deuterium contents should
be very useful in helping to establish the geographic origins of monarchs,
as has already been demonstrated by Environment Canada researchers for
migratory songbirds.

         To use deuterium for tracing monarch origins we need information
>from  both controlled experiments and field studies. We are currently
completing controlled experiments to define the hydrogen isotope dynamics
between water, milkweed and monarch body parts. But, we need your help in
obtaining the field data or "ground truth".

        Full use of hydrogen isotopes to answer biological questions
requires that we determine deuterium contents of monarchs raised under
natural conditions across the eastern U.S. and Canada. This information
will be used to calibrate "home signals" for monarchs. This field study
requires that monarchs be reared on naturally occurring milkweeds over a
wide latitudinal gradient, from the Canadian Maritimes to Texas. It is
essential that these monarchs are reared under natural conditions which are
isolated from external influences that can affect the natural water cycle
(e.g.. inside cities, watered gardens, irrigation districts, etc.). The
best locations would be in rural or relatively undisturbed countryside. To
successfully complete this experiment we need volunteers to rear monarchs
and to send us the emerged butterflies together with a sample of the
milkweed (3 or 4 leaves) on which they were raised.

        This project integrates information from a number of subject areas
and should be very interesting for students. It is also one in which
students, teachers and parents can work together to contribute to a unique
scientific study. Adult volunteers are welcome to apply as well. We prefer
to work with volunteers who have experience rearing monarchs, but we will
be pleased to work with others as well.

        Once the "home signals" for monarchs throughout eastern North
America are established, the deuterium content of monarchs will be used to
answer questions about the geographic origins of the monarchs that reach
the discrete roosting sites in Mexico and perhaps, whether monarchs attempt
to return to their region of origin. Results of the project will be
provided in the Monarch Watch Season Summary and on the World Wide Web at
http://monarch.bio.ukans.edu - the Monarch Watch WebSite.

PROJECT SCIENTISTS

        This project is being funded by Environment Canada and Monarch
Watch. The scientists collaborating on this study are Drs. Leonard
Wassenaar and Keith Hobson (Environment Canada) and Dr. Orley Taylor
(Monarch Watch). The Mexican component of the project is sponsored in part
by the Monarch Butterfly Model Forest Project (Michoacan, Mexico).

MONARCH REARING KITS

        To support this project, we will provide monarch rearing kits to
selected volunteers. The kit will contain 20-30 monarch eggs, envelopes in
which to return the adult butterflies, paper towels in which to dry the
milkweed leaves, ziplock bags, labels, data sheets, an addressed return
mailing box, and relatively simple rearing and handling instructions. The
kits will be sent in July and August by Federal Express to arrive on a
prearranged date. The volunteers must agree to rear the monarchs on
naturally occurring milkweeds that are watered only by rainfall and to
return at least 3 male and 3 female monarchs to the Monarch Watch together
with a sample of the dried milkweed leaves (identified to species) on which
the larvae were reared. The samples must be labeled with the name of the
volunteer, location and date.

        Each kit will cost us at least $15 dollars (U.S.) to prepare and
send by Fed Ex. The only costs to volunteers will be their time and return
postage, about $2. We will provide phone, (toll free  888-TAGGING), fax
(913-864-5321), and e-mail ([email-masked]) support for
volunteers who have questions about the project.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

        If you wish  to raise monarchs for this project, please fill out
the application form below and return it to us as soon as possible. We will
select three qualified applicants in each state and province on the 1st of
July. Successful applicants will be notified shortly thereafter and
arrangements will be made to send  the monarch rearing kit to arrive on a
specific date.

APPLICATION
FOR PARTICIPATION IN HYDROGEN ISOTOPE STUDY

NAME:
SCHOOL/ORGANIZATION:
GRADE(S)/POSITION:
STREET ADDRESS*:
CITY:
STATE :
ZIP:
PHONE:
FAX :
E-MAIL:

*A street address (not P.O. Box) is required for shipment of live materials.
Please note: Applicants must have access to naturally occurring milkweed in
rural areas.

Please explain any experience you have had raising butterflies:

Please indicate the milkweed species you will use as a food source for the
monarch larvae:

All applications must be received by 20 June 1996. Applicants will be
selected (3 per state/province) on 1 July 1996. Rearing kits will be sent
in July or August.

Please indicate the week in which you would prefer to receive the rearing kit:

July:           1_____  8_____  15_____ 22_____

August: 1_____  7_____  14_____ 21_____ 28_____

Send completed application to:
Monarch Watch
c/o O.R. Taylor, Dept. of Entomology
University of Kansas, Haworth Hall
Lawrence KS 66045-2106
Fax: 913.864.5321

- or -

Send e-mail with complete information to:
[email-masked]

Monarch Watch
EMAIL:  [email-masked]
URL:  http://monarch.bio.ukans.edu
DPLEX-L:  send message "info DPLEX-L" to [email-masked]
PHONE - toll-free!:  (888) TAGGING
FAX:  (913) 864 5321
SNAIL:  c/o O.R. Taylor, Dept. of Entomology, Univ. of KS, Lawrence KS 66045