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Karen Oberhauser

Karen Oberhauser is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Karen Oberhauser rather than just read about it. In short: Karen Suzanne Oberhauser (born 1956) is an American conservation biologist who specializes in monarch butterflies. Education and career She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in biology at Harvard College, a Bachelor of Science degree in natural science education at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and a PhD in ecology and behavioral biology at the University of Minnesota.

Karen Oberhauser — main illustration
Karen Oberhauser — illustration

Key takeaways

  • Karen Oberhauser belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect Karen Oberhauser to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of Karen Oberhauser from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Karen Suzanne Oberhauser (born 1956) is an American conservation biologist who specializes in monarch butterflies.

Education and career She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in biology at Harvard College, a Bachelor of Science degree in natural science education at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and a PhD in ecology and behavioral biology at the University of Minnesota. Oberhauser is an adjunct professor in the Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology department and former director of the Monarch Lab at the University of Minnesota. In October 2017, she became the director of the University of Wisconsin–Madison Arboretum, in Madison, Wisconsin.

Research Oberhauser has been studying monarch butterflies since 1984. Her research has addressed many aspects of monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) ecology, including reproduction, parasites, factors influencing immature monarch distribution and abundance, and impacts of insecticides, global climate change, and genetically-modified crops. In addition to authoring many publications in scholarly journals, she was also co-editor for two books published by Cornell Press:

The Monarch Butterfly: Biology and Conservation ISBN 978-0-8014-4188-2 Monarchs in a Changing World: Biology and Conservation of an Iconic Butterfly ISBN 978-0-8014-5315-1 In 2014, Oberhauser and a colleague published a scientific article examining how usage of Monsanto's Roundup herbicide on farmland in North America contributes to the decline of milkweeds, important food sources for the butterflies. They found that the size of populations of milkweed were smaller in areas of increased Roundup use, suggesting that the loss of this food source may contribute to the decline of monarchs. The milkweed limitation hypothesis as this has become known, has been tested by other groups of scientists finding conflicting results. Thus, the actual contribution of Roundup use and loss of populations of milkweed to the decline of monarch butterflies is still unclear.

Career activism Oberhauser is a strong proponent of citizen science, environmental and scientific literacy. She is a member of the Editorial Board for Citizen Science: Theory and Practice. In 2013, she was named a Champion of Change for Citizen Science by the White House. President Eric Kaler of the University of Minnesota stated that "Professor Oberhauser represents the best and the brightest in our faculty here at the University of Minnesota. Her work with citizen scientists, teachers and elementary school students exemplifies the deep importance we place on public engagement, which is a core part of the University’s land grant mission." Oberhauser has been director for the Monarchs in the Classroom Program, president of the Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary Foundation and director of the Monarch Larva Monitoring Project.

Select publications Saunders, S. P.; Ries, L.; Oberhauser, K. S.; Thogmartin, W. E. & Zipkin, E. F. (2018). "Local and cross‐seasonal associations of climate and land use with abundance of monarch butterflies Danaus plexippus". Ecography. 41 (2): 278–290. Stenoien, C.; Nail, K. R.; Zalucki, J. M.; Parry, H.; Oberhauser, K. S. & Zalucki, M. P. (2018). "Monarchs in decline: a collateral landscape‐level effect of modern agriculture". Insect Science. 25 (4): 528–541. Oberhauser, K.; Wiederholt, R.; Diffendorfer, J. E.; Semmens, D.; Ries, L.; Thogmartin, W. E. & Semmens, B. (2017). "A trans‐national monarch butterfly population model and implications for regional conservation priorities". Ecological Entomology. 42 (1): 51–60. Oberhauser, K. S., Taylor, O. R., Reppert, S. M., Dingle, H., Nail, K. R., Pyle, R. M., & Stenoien, C. (2013). "Are monarch butterflies true navigators? The jury is still out". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 110 (39), E3680-E3680. Oberhauser, K., & LeBuhn, G. (2012). "Insects and plants: engaging undergraduates in authentic research through citizen science". Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 10 (6): 318–320. Oberhauser, K. (2012). "Tachinid flies and monarch butterflies: citizen scientists document parasitism patterns over broad spatial and temporal scales". American Entomologist, 58 (1). Oberhauser, K., Howard, E., & Batalden, R. (2009). Monarch butterfly monitoring in North America: Overview of initiatives and protocols. Commission for Environmental Cooperation.

Personal life Oberhauser grew up in Wisconsin and married Don Alstad in 1985; the couple has two daughters. Don died in April 2014 at the age of 67.

References

Illustrations

Karen Oberhauser illustration

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Karen Oberhauser

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Karen Oberhauser claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Karen Oberhauser before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Karen Oberhauser ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Karen Oberhauser

In research
Karen Oberhauser appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses Karen Oberhauser in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
Karen Oberhauser is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1956 births, 20th-century American biologists, 20th-century American science writers, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for Karen Oberhauser outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Karen Oberhauser in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what Karen Oberhauser means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain Karen Oberhauser out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Karen Oberhauser in simple terms?

Karen Suzanne Oberhauser (born 1956) is an American conservation biologist who specializes in monarch butterflies. Education and career She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in biology at Harvard College, a Bachelor of Science degree in natural science education at the University of Wisconsi…

Why does Karen Oberhauser matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Karen Oberhauser?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Karen Oberhauser.

Tags

  • 1956 births
  • 20th-century American biologists
  • 20th-century American science writers
  • 20th-century American women biologists
  • 20th-century American women non-fiction writers
  • 20th-century American women scientists
  • 20th-century American zoologists
  • 21st-century American non-fiction writers
  • 21st-century American women biologists
  • 21st-century American zoologists
  • American conservationists
  • American lepidopterists

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