Andrew Davis, an assistant research scientist in UGA’s Odum School of Ecology, was featured in a Science magazine article about monarch butterflies.
After tagging more than 1 million butterflies over a 20-year period, scientists have a new theory that their migration patterns are influenced by the sun, specifically the angle of the high noon sun.
That position, which changes throughout the year and as one moves closer to the equator, could be the key to a long-speculated question about why monarch butterflies annually migrate to a small region in southwestern Mexico.
According to Davis, understanding this “window” could help conservationists better understand how factors affect the success of the monarch’s annual journey.
“It’s great to finally see this data set being used for science,” he said.
