Event Category

PhD Appraisal

Date

May 4, 2026

Time

10:00 am - 11:00 am

Location

Ramsay Wright Laboratories, RW 432

Insect life cycles are highly attuned to the environment, and the timing of critical processes such as diapause and long-distance migration can determine survival and subsequent reproductive output.

While previous literature has identified several environmental factors such as crowding, photoperiod, temperature, and food availability that affect insect migration initiation, it remains
unclear whether the onset of migration is caused by direct threshold triggers during a critical development period, or if it is a dynamic response to perceived relative changes in environment
cues.

My research investigates whether indirect aspects of environmental cues–such as magnitude of relative changes, degree of variability, and agreement of multiple cues–affect migration decisions
in monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus). Building on these findings, I aim to determine whether similar reaction norms and sensitivity to migration cues exist in different migratory populations
and related migratory species within the broader clade of milkweed butterflies (Danainae).

My findings will improve fundamental understanding of how environmental cues are integrated into migration decisions and provide novel predictions of how monarch migration may be affected by a changing climate.

Supervisor: Micah Freedman

Committee chair: Marla Sokolowski