Deforestation contributes to Monarch butterfly deaths
From the newsletter Souce Mex, submitted by Pacho Lane
 

     Environmental experts say human factors contributed to the death of millions of Monarch butterflies in the forests of west-central Mexico in mid-January.  The experts estimate that as many as 250 million Monarch butterflies perished because of extremely cold temperatures in the butterflies' protected area (Reserva Especial de la Biosfera de la Mariposa Monarca, REBMM). The REBMM is located primarily in Michoacan state, but also straddles portions of Mexico state.The butterflies migrate to the preserve from the US and Canada every winter and return back north in March.

     Mexican and international scientists said a large number of Monarch butterflies could have survived the cold wave if a large portion of their habitat had not been destroyed by commercial logging and other illegal cutting.  Monarchs require healthy forests or protection against the elements. The trees help shield them from rain and help retain the warmth left by the sun during the day.  Some estimates said 80% of the Monarch population perished at El Rosario and 74% at Sierra Chincua.

 "We can't do anything about the [natural] catastrophes," said Ernesto Enkerlin Hoeflich, director of the government-affiliated Comision Nacional de Areas Naturales Protegidas. "But we can do  something to ensure a better habitat so that butterfly populations are better able to resist when these things occur."

     Michoacan has the greatest incidence of illegal logging among Mexico's 31 states, said recent data compiled by the Procuraduria Federal de Proteccion al Ambiente (PROFEPA).

     Lincoln Brower, who has studied the REBMM on behalf of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), said this was the worst case ever of butterfly deaths in the biosphere.  "The situation is getting worse," said Brower, considered one of the world's foremost specialists on the annual Monarch butterfly migrations
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 With such unprecedented mortality rates, researchers warn that the spring migration north--when the butterflies begin breeding--will be extremely light and vitally important for the Monarch's recovery.

     President Vicente Fox's administration has taken some steps toward protecting environmentally sensitive areas, including the Monarch butterfly's habitat. The government, in coordination with the WWF, expanded the REBMM to 53,000 hectares and created a US$6 million fund to help people who live in the butterfly sanctuaries and buffer zones look to other industries to make a living.

     But scientists are skeptical that this effort will be sufficient to discourage illegal logging.  "Only when the Monarch is worth more to [potential loggers] than the trees will they stop," said Enkerlin.      Some researchers say the freeze alone will not eliminate the Monarch butterflies, but the reduced numbers leave the species very vulnerable. The following weeks will determine the true state of the butterflies, one researcher said. "A bad winter followed by a bad spring could be catastrophic," said Karen Oberhauser, a specialist on Monarch butterflies at  the University of Minnesota.