Cover Picture and Issue Information. Issue 3 (2nd March 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Is Part Of: Methods in ecology and evolution. Volume 12:Issue 3(2021)
• Page Start: 391
• Page End: 393
• Publication Date: 2021-03-02
• Subjects: Ecology -- Periodicals; Evolution -- Periodicals; 577
• DOI: 10.1111/2041-210X.13411
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2041-210X

Abstract

Abstract : Cover image: Pictured are 14 migratory monarch butterflies feeding on blooming butterfly milkweed in Ames, IA USA. Because the size of the eastern North American monarch butterfly population has significantly declined over the past two decades, observations captured in the photograph are becoming uncommon. In December 2020, the North American monarch was determined to be a candidate species for listing under the U.S. Endangered Species Act due, in part, to the loss of breeding habitat in agricultural landscapes of the Midwest United States. The female monarch is not a habitat patch resident, but instead flies extensively across the landscape, laying eggs in numerous patches. Consequently, monarch egg densities in a landscape are influenced by the amount of habitat and the size and spatial patterns of patches. Understanding monarch movement behavior is critical to employing biologically relevant conservation strategies. Limitations in the ability to directly track flight paths of large insects, like the monarch, was the motivation for the study in this issue by Fisher et al., describing an automated radio telemetry system to track female monarchs beyond human visual range on a fine temporal scale. As technology improves, this system provides a benchmark for automated systems to track insects. Photo credit: ©K. E. Fisher.