Monarch Monarch Species A Species B 0.5 I O Nomal Warmer Normal Warmer Climate Figure 1. The survivability of monarch butterfies that feed on two different species of milkweed in normal and warmer temperatures. Proportion of Surviving Monarchs H
Monarch butterflies are a foul-tasting, poisonous species of butterfly. Monarchs feed almost
exclusively on the milkweed plant from which they store large amounts of cardenolides, the
compound that provides monarchs with their characteristic toxicity. Cardenolides in high
concentrations are toxic to monarchs and their predators, but monarchs have developed
resistance to low concentrations of the toxin.
Researchers suspect that environmental temperature affects the amount of cardenolides in
milkweed plants. To investigate this relationship, the researchers measured the proportion of
surviving monarch butterflies raised in isolation on two different species of milkweed at both
normal and increased temperatures (Figure 1)
Step by step
Solved in 3 steps
