Accessibility Accessibility | FOIA | Privacy | Policies and NoticesFOIA Privacy Policies and Notices U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey Lesson 6— Get Organized to Go Outside

Lesson 6 Objectives By the end of this lesson, you will be able to: Use phenophase definitions and instructions. Describe what you should take with you into the field. Recognize the option for using our smartphones to collect observations. Discuss how binoculars may be useful for animal and plant observations.

Phenophase Definitions and Instructions A phenophase is an observable stage or phase in the annual life cycle of a plant or animal that can be defined by a start and end point. Within the Details for this organism box on your Observation Deck, select the View species profile link. Check the profile page for each of your selected plant and animal species to see the list of phenophases for those species and detailed, species-specific definitions.

Datasheets, Clipboard, Pencil You can download and print a datasheet for each plant or animal from the profile page for that species, or generate a personalized datasheet packet from your Observation Deck by selecting the link to Print Field Datasheets within the My Plants and Animals box.

Printing Paper Datasheets Select the right arrow, within the image below, to watch a short video (00:01:24) on how to print paper data sheets and phenophase definitions. The script for the video is in the slide notes.

Mobile Applications Download our Nature's Notebook application for iPhone or Android and make paperless observations.iPhoneAndroid

Binoculars Binoculars are optional, but they are helpful for observing animals as well as phenophases at the top of tall trees.

Lesson 6 Summary Phenophase definitions and instructions can be found for each species via The Plants and Animals list by doing a search for the species you’d like to observe. Each online species page has the option to print out datasheets and definitions. You can also find the phenophase definition sheets on your Observation Deck by selecting on the link for Print Field Datasheets or Print Phenophase Definition Sheets. You should take datasheets, definition sheets and a clipboard OR a mobile app for recording data in the field. You may also wish to bring binoculars to see animal species or hard to observe phenophases in tree canopies.