Phys.org runs release about mobile app that could help monarch butterfly migration

Phys.org posted a University of Maine media release about a mobile app that citizen scientists can use when visiting potential monarch butterfly roosting sites and answering questions based on observations. UMaine master’s student Brandon Boxler and associate professor of wildlife ecology Cynthia Loftin are working to create a model that predicts highly suitable areas for monarchs to roost during their fall migration to Mexico. The number of monarchs completing the migration has fallen by 90 percent in the past two decades, say the researchers, who want to learn more about the monarch and its behavior to try to curb the population decline.