{"id":79647,"date":"2018-08-31T07:37:43","date_gmt":"2018-08-31T14:37:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev-clm-blog.pantheonsite.io\/?p=79647"},"modified":"2018-08-31T07:37:43","modified_gmt":"2018-08-31T14:37:43","slug":"scoring-milkweed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/?p=79647","title":{"rendered":"Scoring Milkweed"},"content":{"rendered":"

My recent endeavors in the Natural State have lead me in a pursuit of collecting the Monarch-necessary Milkweeds.\u00a0 Monarchs have experienced a sharp decline in the most recent decades due to an array of pressures.\u00a0 These pressures range from habitat loss, due to the agricultural-related land management,\u00a0to\u00a0droughts influenced by climate change. Given that Arkansas lies within the spring breeding area, it is becoming increasingly apparent that an initiative to\u00a0assure the ample supply of Milkweed is placed in motion.\u00a0 Monarch’s not only rely on\u00a0Milkweeds for nectar sources to complete their migration journey (from Canada and North America\u00a0to the Oyamel Fir forests in central Mexico in the fall) but as a site to lay their eggs – they are the only\u00a0species Monarch’s prefer.\u00a0 Additionally, as the offspring emerge, the plant serves as a source of nourishment.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It may confidently\u00a0be stated that Milkweeds are essential for their survival.<\/p>\n

The project I have been working on is establishing a Milkweed plot.\u00a0 The necessary requirements lie with not only sourcing a location, but sourcing seeds possessing the local genotype.\u00a0 Recently, individual gardeners, homeowners, etc, who have decided to plant Milkweeds (be it aesthetics purposes, or a desire to attract Monarchs) have unfortunately planted Tropical Milkweed (Asclepias curassavica<\/em>), which flowers at incompatible times of the year, deterring Monarch’s from remaining on their crucial migration path, but it also carries a parasite, Ophryocystis elektroscirrha<\/em>, which infects the chrysalis, imposing on the health and success of the developing butterflies.\u00a0 Often, these infections\u00a0render the emerging Monarch less fit, reducing their chances of completing the migration and\u00a0breaking the delicate\u00a0link.<\/p>\n

I’ve taken it upon myself to search for Milkweeds within the Ozark-St. Francis forests through an efforts driving to various locations, and with the much appreciated\u00a0assistance of Forest Service employees who have caught sight of Milkweeds during their own projects.\u00a0After recording the location of spotted populations I have either collected the pods, or tagged under-developed pods, with intentions of returning\u00a0at a later date.<\/p>\n

With these seeds, I plan on planting them into the aforementioned Milkweed plot, in hopes of creating a seed source. This source will prove as a living bank, which may be utilized to rehabilitate\u00a0populations within restoration areas amongst the forest.\u00a0 This plot will be placed within close proximity to one of the district offices.\u00a0 The easily accessible location\u00a0will assure that routine maintenance will be\u00a0manageable, and time-efficient.<\/p>\n

It is my hope that this project will serve as a pivotal addition to the Ozark-St. Francis district, providing a tool for restoration as well as emphasizing genetic security.<\/p>\n

Below are photos of a Monarch, as well as\u00a0a caterpillar spotted on Asclepias<\/i> incarnate,<\/i><\/span>\u00a0while collecting pods!
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My recent endeavors in the Natural State have lead me in a pursuit of collecting the Monarch-necessary Milkweeds.\u00a0 Monarchs have experienced a sharp decline in the most recent decades due to an array of pressures.\u00a0 These pressures range from habitat … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7503,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79647"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7503"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=79647"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79647\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":79665,"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79647\/revisions\/79665"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=79647"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=79647"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=79647"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}