CAREER: Phenology, ontogeny and the consequences of shifts in the relative timing of milkweed-monarch interactions

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Ecologists have long recognized that species interactions change over time due to the progression of seasons and changes in the life stages of organisms. However, our understanding of how species interactions are coordinated in time and of the potential implications of disrupting this coordination remains limited. Better understanding of this is particularly important because climate change has the potential to disrupt the timing of species interactions in ecological communities; detailed studies in real-world, ecological communities are necessary to understand the consequences of these changes. This project will study the consequences of changes in the relative timing of interactions between monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus), their host plants (Asclepias spp., or milkweeds), and the associated community of other plants and arthropod. Field experiments, observational studies, historic datasets, and computer simulation models will be used to test: 1) how shifts in the relative timing of milkweed-monarch interactions affect the growth and survival of monarch caterpillars, 2) how the timing of milkweed-monarch interactions has changed over the past four decades, and 3) how the evolutionary history of a community affects the incidence and impacts of shifts in the timing of interactions. This study will create new knowledge about how ecological communities respond to shifts in the timing of species interactions in order to better understand the vulnerability and resilience of complex natural systems.The broader impacts of this work will include a combined research and education project, the Monitoring Milkweed-Monarch Interactions for Learning and Conservation (MMMILC) Project. Under the guidance of faculty and graduate students, undergraduate students in the MMMILC Project will mentor local high school students while they collect long-term observational data on milkweed-monarch interactions. These high school students will include students from groups that are currently under-represented in science. By combining a large-scale, long-term observational research study with a multi-level mentorship program, the MMMILC Project aims to make a lasting contribution to both science and education.