Phenomenal Phenology

Ever hear of Season Creep?  It's a term that scientists use to describe the earlier arrival of the seasons due to climate change. In Europe, season creep has been associated with the arrival of spring moving up by approximately one week in a recent 30 year period. † How do we know this?  One answer is "phenology"!  Find out what we mean in this exploration...

Phenology is the study of periodic plant and animal life cycle events (like the hatching of birds' eggs or flowering of plants) that are triggered by environmental changes, such as day length, temperature and precipitation.  (For you linguists out there, the word "phenology" derives from the Greek word phaino which means "to show or appear".) Many scientists believe that phenology is one of the main bio-indicators of climate change impacts on ecosystems.

Check out these websites on phenology (or look for ones on your own!) and find an example of a phenological event that appears to have been influenced by climate change.  In your Personal Page, tell us about your example and don't forget to cite your references (try to use at least two if you can).

Think about the implications of varying phenology.  Not all animals and plants are equal when it comes to adapting to a new climate.  One of the consequences of species' varying capacity for change is a loss of synchronicity within food webs. Consider a mouse for example - some mice eat insects and seeds.  If plants bloom early, they may be finished blooming by the time their pollinators (insects like bees or butterflies) are mature enough to pollinate their flowers.  This reduces two of the mouse's food sources - if the flowers aren't pollinated, there are no seeds, and if the insects don't have food, there are no insects.  If there is less food, fewer mice survive, which could influence the rest of this food chain (that is, mouse predators like snakes and hawks may also go hungry).1 How might the phenological change you found above affect other species?  Tell us what you think in your Personal Page.

Now let's dig into some real phenological data. Complete the activity on Butterfly Phenology.

If You Need Help

If you have specific questions about this exploration, please contact your Mentor.