LAND
Captive Rearing of Monarchs
What are the problems? 1. Bypassing Natural Selection Monarchs in captivity have been raised inside shelters with abundance of food and without threats of predators or exposure to harsh weather. To raise them in captivity would be counter-intuitive to what they have already adopted for survivals through generations. On the other hand, wild monarchs have evolved in environments with a very high rates of predation and parasitism. Through these natural selection process, only the strongest and fitted would survive and successfully migrate to Mexico. 2. Weakens genetic pool Few among those raised in captivity would miraculously make it to Mexico. However, they might spread weaker genes. 3. Migration behavior being disrupted due to missing cues The details or combinations of cues which triggers migration are yet to be discovered. Mimicking natural environment is extremely challenging. 4. Potential of spreading disease 5. Physical weakness A study found captive reared monarchs are 40-80% weaker. Also, the span of forewings are shorter than wild ones'. How can we help monarchs? 1.Conserve their natural habitats 2.Encourage your local city, county and townships to actively plant milkweed back into the ditches and public spaces.
4. Promote sustainable agriculture 5. Reduce the use of pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides |
