Pranav Balachander
Pronouns: he/him/his
Research Mentor(s): Delbert Green
Co-Presenter:
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology / LSA
Presentation Date: April 20
Presentation Type: Poster
Session: Session 6 – 4:40pm – 5:30 pm
Room: League Ballroom
Authors: Pranav Balachander, Darene Assadia, Delbert A. Green II
Presenter: 6
Abstract
The monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) is one of the most familiar and beloved butterfly species of North America. Unfortunately, their numbers have been declining in several populations, such as the Eastern North American population. The public and scientists alike have been trying to help this species by planting nectar sources in various natural spaces. As their primary food source, nectar sources are crucial to the survival and fitness of monarch butterflies, especially when on their renowned annual migration southward. This action in itself raises many questions regarding monarchs’ memory of the visual and olfactory cues associated with the nectar sources they have encountered. We will extend current findings on monarchs’ visual and perceptual ranges by conducting experiments that utilize live plants, monarchs’ actual nectar sources. In addition, we intend to determine the effect monarch that memory of nectar sources has on monarch foraging behavior. We will use a flight simulator to address these questions and analyze our data with lab-developed software. There are three experimental groups: 1) monarchs not exposed to any plants (naive group), 2) monarchs exposed to one plant species, and 3) monarchs exposed to a second plant species. Each of these conditions will allow the monarchs to learn the sensory cues associated with the respective plant species, or lack thereof, to which they are exposed. We expect that the experimental group that was previously exposed to the first plant will collectively exhibit a stronger preference for the first plant compared to the naive group, which we expect to collectively exhibit random preference. We expect the experimental group that was exclusively exposed to the second plant, to fly toward the second plant. We expect random directionality for all experimental groups for the trial with no plants. Overall, the results of this study will serve to augment our understanding of monarch butterfly memory of nectar sources and its influence on foraging behavior, which in turn can better inform conservation efforts to protect this species.
Natural/Life Sciences, Natural/Life Sciences
