Welcome to MAREN

MAREN is a network of researchers and educators who are searching for answers to big questions about milkweed, an important food source for monarch butterflies. We strive to include students in collecting data and making discoveries.

Get Involved Here!

Events and Announcements

 

  • We received funding from NSF to help expand the project! Hooray!
  • Help us review our new phenology protocols.  Apply at this link by Friday, July 3, 2020 at 12 noon CST.  
  • Check out our new (and still developing) Phenology and Herbivory Protocols!

 

 

 

 

 

Recent Contributions to our Library

RIT ES Capstone 2019 report on EREN Got Milkweed sites

Monarch Decline and Milkweed Loss

Monarchs and Milkweed – and what we should do about it at St. Olaf

Monarch Butterfly Population Decline

Opinion- The Effect of Available Milkweed on the Monarch Population

Saving the Monarch Butterflies

Monarch Butterfly Population Decline: What should St. Olaf do?

Monarch Butterfly Population Decline

How are we saving the monarchs?

Monarch Population Decline

Monarch Population Decline Essay

Monarch Decline from Habitat Loss

What is causing monarch population decline?

Planting Milkweed is not Enough

Monarch Conservation

Where did the Milkweed go?

Monarchs and Milkweed: Correlation or Causation

Test Creative Post

Test Opinion

Phenology and Local Adaptation Data Nugget

Phenology and Local Adaptation Data Nugget

Picking Plants for the Monarch Highway-Data Nugget

An experimental investigation of local adaptation in common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)

Geographic Variation in the Growth Responses of Milkweed Plants to Damage

Weird leaf growth patterns in milkweed

Weird leaf growth patterns in milkweed

More Pollinator Images

More Pollinator Images

Pollinator observations on Milkweed

Pollinator observations on Milkweed

Goats do eat milkweed

Goats do eat milkweed

We were out setting up a germination experiment in the snow

We were out setting up a germination experiment in the snow

1. Monarchs and Their Decline

1. Monarchs and Their Decline

2. Monarch Population Decline Debate

2. Monarch Population Decline Debate

3. Milkweed, a Critical Food Source for Monarchs

3. Milkweed, a Critical Food Source for Monarchs

4. Local Adaptation of Milkweed: Evolutionary Principles

4. Local Adaptation of Milkweed: Evolutionary Principles

5. Local Adaptation of Milkweed: Data Analysis

5. Local Adaptation of Milkweed: Data Analysis

6. Citizen Science: Monarch and Milkweed Awareness

6. Citizen Science: Monarch and Milkweed Awareness

7. Picking Plants for the “Monarch Highway”

7. Picking Plants for the “Monarch Highway”

Citizen Science and Ethics

Citizen Science and Ethics

Visit Our Library

View and contribute to stories, videos, photos, lesson plans, publications, presentations, student works, and other creative contributions.

Contribute Here

See Educational Resources

Our “Got Milkweed?” and “Phenology and Herbivory” curricula use student participation to inform our discoveries about milkweed.

See them here

Meet our Partners

Our network has over 30 partners, and we are always welcoming to new members!

View them Here