phenology and the natural world master naturalists lorianne barnett education coordinator
TRANSCRIPT
Phenology and The Natural World
Master Naturalists
LoriAnne Barnett
Education Coordinator
Objectives of today’s discussion:
Define phenology and explain its applicability to understanding changes in habitats
Understand the importance of record-keeping.
Understand long-term phenology monitoring.
Apply phenology to the Master Naturalist Program
Challenge!
Skills you will gain:
Observation
Record-keeping
Species & Life cycle
identification
What do I KNOW about PHENOLOGY?!What do I WANT TO KNOW?
10 minutes
Opening Activity
Just to be clear…
phRenology – a pseudoscience
focused on measurements of the human skull and size
of the brain
phOnology – a branch of linguistics
concerned with the organization of sounds in
language
What is phenology?
The science of the seasons• Blooms and buds• Hibernation, migration,
emergence• Easy to observe
Photo credit: L. Barnett
…it is the study of the timing of recurring plant and animal life-cycle stages, or phenophases, and their relationship to environmental conditions.
Photo credit: P. Warren
Photo credit: P. Warren
Observing is experiencingUsing nature as a guide
Ecosystems, climate & phenology
USA National Phenology Network
Master Natualists
Next Steps
Photo credit: E. Alderson Photo credit: B. Powell Photo credit: B. Powell
Photo credit: P. Warren
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons
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Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons
Photo credit: L. Barnett
Photo credit: P. Warren
Observing is experiencing
Using nature as a guideEcosystems, climate & phenology
USA National Phenology Network
Master Naturalists
Next Steps
Photo credit: E. Alderson Photo credit: B. Powell Photo credit: B. Powell
Photo credit: P. Warren
Using nature as a guide
Tradition and Lore
http://www.farmersalmanac.com/full-moon-names/
“Tribes kept track of seasons by giving distinct names to each
recurring full moon.”
November -Beaver Moon
February – Full Worm Moon
May – Full Flower Moon
Phot
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Photo Credits: Wikimedia Commons unless otherwise noted Photo credit: L. Barnett
September – Harvest Moon
Garden re-created
Photo credit: Monticello
Acer rubrum (red maple); Photo credit: D. Hartel
Observing the same individual through the seasons
Understanding outdoor recreation schedules
Photo credit: E. Stemmy
• Feeding times• Following
brackish waters• Water
temperature• Spawning times
related to temp - 55° - 68° F in Chesapeake Bay. April peak?
Chesapeake Bay Spring Season for Striped Bass = May 16 – June 16
Cloned lilac program
HISTORIC LILAC NETWORK
ESTABLISHED IN THE 1950S
SANTA RITA EXPERIMENTAL
RANGE,GREEN VALLEY, AZ
Photo credit: L. Barnett
Photo credit: L. Barnett
Photo credit: P. Warren
Observing is experiencing
Using nature as a guide
Ecosystems, climate, & phenology
USA National Phenology Network
Master Naturalists
Next Steps
Photo credit: E. Alderson Photo credit: B. Powell Photo credit: B. Powell
Photo credit: P. Warren
Ecology
Distrib
ution Abiotic
Biotic
Climate
Abundance
BIOMES –World’s Major Communities Classified by major vegetation, adaptations to environment
Aquatic
Grassland
Desert
Forest
Tundra
Optimum conditions=NICHE
WeatherDay-to-day changes in the
Earth’s atmosphere.
Climate is what you expect…
…weather is what you get.-Mark Twain
ClimateLong-term average
of dailyweather in a given
area.
It is about… …time
http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/phzmweb/
Annual average MINIMUM temperatures – 30 years
Sunset Climate Zones for the WestAlso account for:
• Latitude• Hills and Valleys• Elevation• Ocean influence (humidity)• Continental air• Precipitation • Microclimates
www.sunset.com/garden/climate-zones/
ZONE 10: High desert areas of Arizona and New Mexico This zone consists mostly of the 3,300- to 5,000-foot elevations in parts of Arizona and New Mexico. It also includes parts of southern Utah and Nevada, and adjacent California desert. Zone 10 has a definite winter season—75 to more than 100 nights below 32°F (0°C).
http://alliance.la.asu.edu/maps/AZ_biomes_web.pdf
Life Zones
Biodiversity
Why is climate important to ecology?
Ecology
Climate drives what occurs where, what lives where, and how those species respond to their enviroment.
PHENOLOGY
Who observes phenology?• Scientists
• Gardeners/Agriculturists• Land managers
• Educators• Youth
Photo credit: C. Enquist
Photo credit: P. Warren
Photo credit: S. Schaffer
PLANT LIFE CYCLE
GREEN GROWTHRequires Optimum Conditions
PLANT LIFE CYCLE
FLOWER
Requires Optimum Conditions
PLANT LIFE CYCLE
SET SEED Requires Optimum Conditions
American kestrelFalco sparverius
Reproduction
©Wikimedia Commons
©Wikimedia Commons
Reproduction
Active
CompletePupa
INSECT
www.askabiologist.asu.edu
LARVA
PUPA
ADULT
Reproduction Development MethodActivity
ANIMAL >> Mammal, Bird, Snake, Insect
Flowers FruitsLeaves
PLANT
Observable life cycle events orPHENOPHASES
Why are the timing of life-cycleevents important?
• SEASONAL CHANGE
• Species interrelations
Shifting weather and climate affect all of these
PHENOLOGY
CLIMATE CHANGE
Phenology and Climate ChangeResearch, spring timing and range
A three-way mismatch
English Oak
Winter Moth
Pied Flycatcher Both et al. 2006 Nature
EARLIER
SAME TIME EACH YEAR
EARLIER
www.globalchange.gov
What to expect :
Drought
Increased heat
Decreased water flow
Rising sea levels
Extreme Events
http://nca2014.globalchange.gov
Possible solutions
Understand Species Response
Mitigation
Adaptation
Climate Change and
Watersheds:
Decreased stream flow
Change in species
Increased nutrient load
http://www.epa.gov/sciencematters/climatechange/ccwatershed.htm
Possible actions
Monitor health of watershed
Mitigation to limit impacts of pollutants
Alternative water supply
Why is a changing climate problematic?
Ecology
CHANGES in:
• Arrival, birth, feeding
• Shifting range boundaries Changing morphology
• Extirpation or Extinction
• Economic impacts
http://www.ipcc.ch/
Photo credit: P. Warren
Observing is experiencing
Using nature as a guide
Ecosystems, climate, & phenology
USA National Phenology Network
Master Naturalists
Next Steps
Photo credit: E. Alderson Photo credit: B. Powell Photo credit: B. Powell
Photo credit: P. Warren
UNDERSTAND HOW SPECIES AND
LANDSCAPES ARE RESPONDING TO CLIMATE
CHANGE.
Primary goal• Create a standardized, long-
term dataset for use in multiple types of research.
Mission• Make phenology data, models
and related information available.
• Encourage people of all ages and backgrounds to observe and record phenology.
Photo credit: C. Enquist
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Plant and animal species = 943 total
3727 observers reporting (11,587 total) making 603,073 observations
13,249 sites, 6404 active sites
As of 9/1/14
Reproduction Development MethodActivity
ANIMAL
Active individuals
Feeding
Male combat Mating
Young individuals
Dead individuals
Individuals at a feeding station
Flowers FruitsLeaves
Young leaves Leaves Colored
leaves
Flowers or flower buds
Open flowers
Ripe fruits Recent
seed or fruit drop
PLANT PHENOPHASES
…How Many?
YES
NO
?
Leaves
Flowers
Fruits
Gambel Oak
Open flowers : One or more open, fresh flowers are visible on the plant. Flowers are considered "open" when the reproductive parts (male stamens or female pistils) are visible between or within unfolded or open flower parts (petals, floral tubes or sepals). Do not include wilted or dried flowers. For Quercus gambelii, the male flowers will open once the initially compact catkin has unfolded and is hanging loosely' Female flowers are open when the pistils are visible, but will be very difficult to see where they are out of reach’.
Do you see…open flowers?
Photo Credit: Utah State University Extension http://forestry.usu.edu/htm/treeid/oaks/gambel-oak Photo credit: Evelyn Simak via Wikimedia Commons
Do you see…..Flowers or Flower Buds?Less than 3
3 to 10
11 to 100
101 to 1000
1001 to 10,000
More than 10,000
Select the most appropriate binWrite the bin on the line
What percentage of all fresh flowers are open?Less than 5%
5% - 24%
25% - 49%
50% - 74%
75% - 94%
95% or more
Select the most appropriate binWrite the bin on the line
Acorn Woodpecker
Photo from All About Birds
Breaking leaf buds
Leaves
Increasing leaf size Colored leaves
Flowers or Flower Buds
Open Flowers
Fruits
Ripe Fruits
Recent fruit or seed drop
DECIDUOUS PLANT PHENOPHASES
Breaking leaf buds
Leaves
Increasing leaf size Colored leaves
Flowers or Flower Buds
Open Flowers
Fruits
Ripe Fruits
Recent fruit or seed drop
DECIDUOUS PLANT PHENOPHASES
UNDERSTANDING PHENOPHASEDEFINITIONS
10 minutes
Activity 2
After reviewing the definitions, discuss:
1. Something that you have seen before, or
is familiar
2. Something that is confusing
3. Something you’d like to understand better
Activity 2
Data IN
Enter Observations Online
Photo credit: S. Schaffer
You MUST have your account completely set up online first to use the mobile apps!
Data OUT
Red maple (Acer rubrum) in 2013
collected via Nature’s Notebook
http://www.usanpn.org/data/visualizations
DATA DOWNLOAD
https://www.usanpn.org/results/data
DATA DOWNLOAD
RESULTS
2012. Primack, R. B, Miller-Rushing, A.J
7 day average
61 years
2-3 week average
1999. Bradley, N.L., Leopold, C.A., Ross, J., Huffacker, W.
Sandhill crane and geese
Nature's Notebook data on flowering of 6 species of deciduous trees and eBird (Cornell Lab of Ornithology 2012, ebird.org) data on a long-distance migratory bird, the Tennessee warbler
Interannual patterns of phenological synchrony and overlap
Fall Webworm phenology
• Timing – Fall
• IPM, natural
"Snowman on frozen lake" by Petritap - Own work. Licensed under Creative Commons @ Wikimedia Commons.
"Spring in Somerville, NJ - 2012 File 3" by Siddharth Mallya - Own work. Licensed under Creative Commons @ Wikimedia Commons
"Owoce wisni" by Nova - Own work. Licensed under Creative Commons @ Wikimedia Commons By Hans [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons
DATA ENTRY20 minutes
Activity 3
10 minutes
Photo credit: P. Warren
Observing is experiencing
Using nature as a guide
Ecosystems, climate, & phenology
USA National Phenology Network
Master NaturalistsNext Steps
Photo credit: E. Alderson Photo credit: B. Powell Photo credit: B. Powell
Photo credit: P. Warren
Photo credit: L. Barnett
Phenology
Plant & People
Connections Local Ecology & Biodiversity
HabitatsClimate & Weather
Education
Citizen Science
Stewardship
Record keeping
Consistent protocols
Useable, scale-able
Citizen science
Data output
Photo credit: L. Barnett
Photo credit: T. Brown via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credit: Britton, N.L., and A. Brown., NRCS Plants B
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asi
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Photo credit: Hans Hillewaert via Wikimedia Commons
Water Hyacinth
American bullfrog
Photo credit: L. Barnett
www.CoCoRaHS.org
Photo credit: P. Warren
Observing is experiencing
Using nature as a guide
Ecosystems, climate, & phenology
USA National Phenology Network
Master Naturalists
Next Steps
Photo credit: E. Alderson Photo credit: B. Powell Photo credit: B. Powell
Photo credit: P. Warren
Photo credit: L. Barnett
LONG-TERM PROGRAM PLANNING
Photo credit: L. Barnett
Design a PHENOLOGY PROGRAM
• What is your science question?• What outcomes, short and long term, do
you want to achieve?• What are the activities you can do?• What are the resources you already
have?• Who would be potential partners?
When are mesquite beans
ready for harvest?
Volunteer Groups
Local Partners
Photo credit: L. Barnett
At what scale should your phenology-related outcomes be?
For you personally? For your Master Naturalist
Organization? For a group you volunteer for as a
Master Naturalist?
PROGRAM PLANNING20 minutes
Activity 4
Objectives of today’s discussion:
Define phenology and explain its applicability to understanding changes in habitats
Understand the importance of record-keeping.
Understand long-term phenology monitoring.
Apply phenology to the Master Naturalist Program
Challenge!
Connect with USA-NPN…
• Sign up for a phenology quarterly e-newsletter
• Become an observer
• Discover new tools and resources
LoriAnne [email protected]
www.facebook.com/USANPN
www.pinterest.com/USANPN
www.twitter.com/@loriannebarnett