Evaluating the Suitability of Roadway Corridors for Use by Monarch Butterflies (2020) / Chapter Skim
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47 Background The Roadside Monarch Habitat Calculator uses data from the Rapid Assessment of Roadside Habitat for Monarchs to generate a Monarch Habitat Quality Score for each assessed ROW site. Managers may wish to use monarch habitat quality scores to compare sites under different management schemes (e.g., reduced mowing, weed control)
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48 Evaluating the Suitability of Roadway Corridors for Use by Monarch Butterflies (function weight 30%) , the measure of milkweed density (weight within function 80%)
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Product C: Roadside Monarch Habitat Calculator 49 0.0036 plants/m2 (14 plants/acre) and mean of 0.0508 plants/m2 (206 plants/acre)
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50 Evaluating the Suitability of Roadway Corridors for Use by Monarch Butterflies spring and during the fall migration period (see Malcolm 2018)
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Product C: Roadside Monarch Habitat Calculator 51 Nectar Plants: Number of Species Having a variety of blooming species with different blooming periods such that a site provides nectar through the season when monarchs may be present is optimal. This follows the recommendations set forth in many management guidelines for pollinator habitat.
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52 Evaluating the Suitability of Roadway Corridors for Use by Monarch Butterflies in the right combinations, these native plantings can be resilient against invasion by weed species and require less maintenance than traditional plantings of ornamental flowers or turfgrass. As a matter of background, only native plants are counted in EDF's HQT nectar plant scoring system; a site with only non-native species would receive a zero score for nectar sources.
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Product C: Roadside Monarch Habitat Calculator 53 highest near agricultural fields and developed areas with no buffer, and therefore these locations receive the lowest ranking in the Habitat Calculator. Sites bordered by woody barriers and neighboring agricultural and developed areas are ranked higher, and the highest ranking is attributed to those that neighbor wooded or grassland areas (Table 7)
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54 Evaluating the Suitability of Roadway Corridors for Use by Monarch Butterflies appears to be an avoidance effect on roadways with the highest traffic volume. Therefore, relative to potential vehicular collisions, smaller, slower roads are best, but moderate traffic levels would rank worse than the highest traffic volumes.
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Product C: Roadside Monarch Habitat Calculator 55 Management Vegetation management in roadsides is essential to operations for safety, aesthetics, and steward ship. The research team wanted to include management within the Habitat Calculator to illustrate how changes in management can be expected to affect habitat quality for monarchs.
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56 Evaluating the Suitability of Roadway Corridors for Use by Monarch Butterflies Mowing can have negative effects, including: • Removes flowers that provide nectar (Halbritter et al.
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Figure 29. Histogram depicting the distribution of monarch habitat quality scores for 298 randomly located roadside sites in Minnesota, sampled once during the summer of 2018.
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58 Evaluating the Suitability of Roadway Corridors for Use by Monarch Butterflies Figure 32. Monarch habitat quality scores for 298 sites visited in Minnesota in 2018.
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Product C: Roadside Monarch Habitat Calculator 59 Oklahoma In Oklahoma, the mean overall habitat quality score was 37.64 (SD = 10.38; min 14.75, max 72.75) (Figure 33)
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60 Evaluating the Suitability of Roadway Corridors for Use by Monarch Butterflies Breeding Foraging Threats Weeds Management mean 4.162 8.321 9.945 6.512 3.431 SD 5.580 4.091 2.970 2.053 0.866 minimum 0 2.25 4.375 1.875 1.5 model maximum 24 21 16.25 8.75 4.5 field maximum*
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Product C: Roadside Monarch Habitat Calculator 61 beneficial plants have been made, which could serve as a starting point for developing more robust research studies and updating tools like the Habitat Calculator. The NRCS published an in-depth set of regionally specific guides, entitled Important Plants and Plant Lists of the Monarch Butterfly (USDA NRCS 2018)
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