Using Nature’s Notebook to track seasonal & long term environmental change Nature’s rhythms: LoriAnne Barnett Education Coordinator September 25, 2015

LIFE CYCLE BINGO! Opening Activity

Objectives of today’s workshop:  Define phenology and explain its applicability to understanding changes in the natural world  Understand the importance of record- keeping.  Understand long-term phenology monitoring.  Apply citizen science and phenology!  Learn where to find resources to get started.

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 do I KNOW about PHENOLOGY?! What do I WANT TO KNOW? THINK, PAIR, SHARE 5 minutes Activity 2

PHENOLOGY

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

Who observes phenology? Scientists Gardeners/Agriculturists Land managers Educators Youth Photo credit: C. Enquist Photo credit: P. Warren Photo credit: S. Schaffer

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

U NDERSTAND 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

Photo credit: L. Romano

Reproduction Development Method Activity ANIMAL >> Mammal, Bird, Snake, Insect Flowers Fruits Leaves PLANT Observable life cycle events or PHENOPHASES

Why are the timing of life-cycle events important? SEASONAL CHANGE Species interrelations Shifting weather and climate affect all of these

Vegetable Gardening "Bagatelle potager02" by Spedona (Spedona) - Cliché personnel - own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

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 Understanding outdoor recreation schedules

Land management decisions Image credit: John McColgan –U.S. Department of Agriculture. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia

Observations RECORD KEEPING

Using nature as a guide Tradition and Lore “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 Photo credit: B. Powell Photo Credits: Wikimedia Commons unless otherwise notedPhoto credit: L. Barnett September – Harvest Moon

Jefferson Powell Thoreau

Garden re-created Photo credit: Monticello

Cloned lilac program H ISTORIC L ILAC N ETWORK E STABLISHED IN THE 1950 S S ANTA R ITA E XPERIMENTAL R ANGE, G REEN V ALLEY, AZ Photo credit: L. Barnett

Photo Credit: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Southeast Region, via Wikimedia Commons Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons Photo credit: L. Barnett

David Bertelsen, Naturalist

What’s Phenology Finger Rock – Santa Catalina Mtns, Tucson Finger Rock Trail, Santa Catalina Mtns Tucson, AZ Courtesy: T.M. Crimmins

Collected by a single individual Collected by a single individual 1984-present 1984-present round-trip hikes (10 miles), 4158’ elevation gain round-trip hikes (10 miles), 4158’ elevation gain Approximately weekly Approximately weekly 587 flowering plant taxa (group of species) 587 flowering plant taxa (group of species) 155K+ records of plant flowering. 155K+ records of plant flowering. 73,000 vertebrate records 73,000 vertebrate records Photo credit: B. Wilder

Acer rubrum (red maple); Photo credit: D. Hartel Observing the same individual through the seasons

Acer rubrum (red maple); Photo credit: D. Hartel Observing the same individual through the seasons

ECOLOGY & PHENOLOGY

Weather Day-to-day changes in the Earth’s atmosphere. -Mark Twain Climate Long-term average of daily weather in a given area. It is about… …time

Distribution Abiotic Biotic Abundance

BIOMES –World’s Major Communities Classified by major vegetation, adaptations to environment Aquatic Grassland Desert Forest Tundra Optimum conditions= NICHE

Why is climate important to ecology? Climate drives what occurs where, what lives where, and how those species respond to their environment.

PHENOLOGY CLIMATE CHANGE

Sea level rise 1-2 inches per decade Birds winter ranges will change – how? Where? oaspub.epa.gov/eims/eimscomm.getfile?p_download_id=4011 Frequent and severe floods and drought Reduction in biodiversity How Will Climate Change Affect the Mid-Atlantic Region?

Invasive species that thrive in warmer and wetter environments could displace beneficial Mid-Atlantic species and create pest control problems.

Phenology and Climate Change Research, spring timing and range A three-way mismatch English Oak Winter Moth Pied Flycatcher Both et al Nature EARLIER SAME TIME EACH YEAR EARLIER

CHANGES in: Arrival, birth, feeding Shifting range boundaries Changing morphology Extirpation or Extinction Economic impacts

What content and skills might PHENOLOGY teach?

PHENOLOGY

What can PHENOLOGY teach:  English and Language Arts  Social Studies: History, Cultural Studies, and Geography  Healthy Living and Physical Education  Foreign and Native Languages Arts such as music, theater, and visual arts

Have a PLAN

Make it LONG TERM Intro YEAR 1 YEAR 2YEAR 3 + Intro YEAR 4 Intro Monitoring Analysis Monitoring Analysis

Observations SHARED FOR SCIENCE

Citizen science …  scientific research conducted, in whole or in part, by amateurs or nonprofessionals  public participation in scientific research  (also known as) crowd science, crowd-sourced science, or networked science Quercus alba, Q. falcata, D. Hartel

~6,200 active observers ~7,700 active sites 6.3+ records Lilac data from taxa from 2009

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. Do you see…open flowers? Velvet mesquite, Prosopis velutina Image credit: Patty Guertin

Leaves Flowers Fruits Trees and shrubs – Deciduous with pollen Northern red oak, Quercus rubra Image credit: Ellen G. Denny

Quercus rubra phenophases Which phenophases are pictured? What time of year? Image credit: Ellen G. Denny

Songbirds Northern cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis Image credit: Ken Thomas via Wikimedia Commons Activity Reproduction Development Method

Cardinalis cardinalis Image credit: Wikimedia commons and Pinterest

Breaking leaf buds Leaves Increasing leaf size Colored leaves Flowers or Flower Buds Open Flowers FruitsRipe Fruits Recent fruit or seed drop DECIDUOUS PLANT PHENOPHASES

You MUST have your account completely set up online first to use the mobile apps!

Mobile app interface Image credit: Wikimedia commons "Cornus florida 02 by Line1

NEXT STEPS

Select plants and animals on school property Visit sites Tucson Phenology Trail sites on field trips

①Saguaro ②Candy barrel cactus ③Buck-horn cholla ④Tree cholla ⑤Velvet Mesquite ⑥Yellow paloverde ⑦Desert ironwood ⑧Brittlebush ⑨Beavertail pricklypear

Photo credit: L. Barnett Create accounts in Nature’s Notebook

Resources and upcoming events

Resources and upcoming events

What did I LEARN about PHENOLOGY? Closing Activity

Objectives of today’s workshop: Define phenology and explain its applicability to understanding changes in the natural world Understand the importance of record- keeping. Understand long-term phenology monitoring. Apply citizen science and phenology! Learn where to find resources to get started.

Connect with USA-NPN… Become an observer Discover new tools and resources Visit a local phenology trail LoriAnne Barnett