Volume 125 Issue 104
kansan.com
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
/KANSAN
sas' 2013
nesday
1 begin
the team
August
opener
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MONARCH MIGRATION
Bryant
THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT
Program encourages people to create butterfly habitats to aid in migration
KATIE MCBRIDE
kmcbride@kansan.com
The migration of monarch butterflies is a curious mystery of nature and leaves many wondering how the monarchs know where to go or what to do.
In recent years, the depletion of many monarch habitats has led to concern about their thinning migrations. This spring marks the beginning of the monarchs' migration back to the United States.
Monarch Watch is a program that promotes the creation of new monarch butterfly habitats as well as the creation of new ones. The
program began in
program began in 1992 as an educational outreach program that engages researchers, students, volunteers and teachers. Orley "Chip" Taylor, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University, has been the director of Monarch Watch for 16 years.
"Migration is one of our great mysteries; it's one of the things that we haven't solved," Taylor said. "As scientists, this is a puzzle, and as private citizens, it's a marvel. We want to see this migration continue because it's really one of the most magnificent biological phenomenon."
An area of concern for these populations is that development, the use of herbicides and other human factors has diminished habitats that the butterflies rely on during their migrations.
"We've got a lot of problems in the United States," Taylor said. "We're developing this country at a very rapid pace and paying very little attention to wildlife. We are losing something like 2.2 million acres a year of habitat in this country due to development."
If efforts are not supported to protect and create habitats, the monarch population will decline to extremely low levels. One important factor in the monarch's survival is the milkweed plant. Without it, the butterflies are unable to reproduce. In addition, without nectar from flowers, the butterflies cannot make the migration to Mexico for the winter.
"One of the things we've tried to do is to initiate a program that encourages people to
create more monarch habitats," Taylor said. "Almost everybody, if they own some property and have a garden, can incorporate a few milkweed plants into their garden."
Taylor hopes that Monarch Watch can encourage people to take small steps to help monarchs, such as creating a simple butterfly garden that includes milkweed.
"Over the years, fewer and fewer students seem to be connected with the outdoors," Taylor said. "We have to appreciate the fact that there are more than human beings on this planet. All of this life around us sustains us, and is important for how we function."
Edited by Paige Lytle
LAWRENCE
FRIN RRFMFR/KANSAM
The state plans to build a large highway through the Wakarusa Wetlands connecting I-70 to Kansas Highway 10. The University owns 20 of the wetland's 640 acres.
STUDENTS MARCH FOR WAKARUSA WETLANDS
Gus Bova, a junior from Lawrence, is part of the movement to put pressure on the University to take responsibility for the 20 acres it owns. Bova said in an email that if the University either refuses to allow construction on its 20 acres or returns the land to Haskell, he believes the current plans for construction can't go forward.
Haskell originally had the rights to the wetlands, but after a time known as Indian Termination in the 1950s and 1960s, the rights to the land were given to the University along with the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism and Baker University.
University students, Haskell University students and Lawrence community members marched down Jayhawk Boulevard yesterday to raise awareness about the Wakarusa Wetlands.
The University owns 20 of the 640 acres of the wetlands, Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) plans to build the South Lawrence Trafficway directly through the wetlands, including the University's portion.
Bova said that this was a solidarity march between the University and Haskell, indigenous and non-indigenous people and the wetlands themselves.
"It is in the best interest of all to start taking our role as environmental stewards seriously by both building cross-cultural solidarity and by collectively standing up for the rights of the plants and animals we share this planet with." Bova said in an email.
About 50 people marched down Jayhawk Boulevard, played music and passed out flyers on Wescoe Beach in the hopes of raising awareness about the wetlands issue and causing students to look into the issue themselves. Bova said.
NATIONAL
There will be a panel discussion on the future of the wetlands at the Ecumenical Campus Ministries tomorrow at noon. Haskell will host a Teach-in Friday at 5 p.m. in Sequoyah Hall to catch people up on the various issues surrounding the wetlands. The Wetlands Preservation Organization meets every Wednesday at 5 p.m. at Tommany Hall on the Haskell campus.
Hannah Barling
People react as an explosion goes off near the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon in Boston yesterday. Two explosions went off at the Boston Marathon finish line on Monday, sending authorities out on the course to carry off the injured while the stragglers were rerouted away from the smoking site of the blasts. (AP Photo/The Boston Globe, David L. Ravn) MANDATORY CREDIT
Three killed, dozens injured in twin blasts
SEE HOW YOU CAN HELP http://bit.lv/17gt0Js
BOSTON — Two bombs exploded in the crowded streets near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday, killing three people and injuring more than 130 in a bloody scene of shattered glass and severed limbs that raised alarms that terrorists might have struck again in the U.S.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
A White House official speaking on condition of anonymity because the investigation was still unfolding said the attack was being treated as an act of terrorism.
President Barack Obama vowed
The twin blasts took place about 10 seconds and about 100 yards apart, knocking spectators and at least one runner off their feet, shattering windows and sending dense plumes of smoke rising over the street and through the fluttering national flags lining the course.
that those responsible will "feel the full weight of justice."
A senior U.S. intelligence official said two other bombs were found near the end of the 26.2-mile course in what appeared to be a well-coordinated attack.
Authorities shed no light on a motive or who may have carried
out the bombings, and police said they had no suspects in custody. Authorities in Washington said there was no immediate claim of responsibility. The FBI took charge of the investigation.
At Massachusetts General Hospital, Alisda Dair Conn, chief of emergency services, said: "This is something I've never seen in my 25 years here ... this amount of carnage in the civilian population. This is what we expect from war."
Some 23,000 runners took part in the race, one of the world's oldest and most prestigious marathons.
Boston Police Commissioner
Edward Davis asked people to stay indoors or go back to their hotel rooms and avoid crowds as bomb squads methodically checked parcels and bags left along the race route. He said investigators didn't know whether the bombs were hidden in mailboxes or trash can, and that authorities had received "no specific intelligence that anything was going to happen" at the race.
"We still don't know who did this or why," Obama said at the White House, adding, "Make no mistake: We will get to the bottom of this."
With scant official informa
tion to guide them, members of Congress said there was little or no doubt it was an act of terrorism.
"We just don't know whether it's foreign or domestic," said Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security.
The attack may have been timed for maximum carnage: The four-hour mark is typically a crowded time near the finish line because of the slow-but-steady recreational runners completing the race and because of all the relatives and friends clustered around to cheer them on.
Index CLASSIFIEDS 9 CRYPTOQUIPS 5 SPORTS 10 CROSSWORD 5 OPINION 4 SUDDOKU 5
All contents, unless stated otherwise, © 2013 The University Daily Kansan
Don't forget Attend the resume workshop from 9 a.m. to noon in 204 JRP Hall.
Today's Weather Cloudy, 20 percent chance of rain. Wind NE at 17 mph.
HI: 48
LO: 43
Has anyone seen the sun?