March 7, 2015 How to use Nature’s Notebook Workshop LoriAnne Barnett Education Coordinator Erin Posthumus Liaison to USFWS, Outreach Associate

Name, affiliation, and What seasonal indicator stands out to you the most? 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 phenology!  Challenge!

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? 10 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

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

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

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

Photo credit: P. Warren Observing is experiencing Using nature as a guide Ecosystems, climate & phenology USA National Phenology Network Photo credit: E. Alderson Photo credit: B. Powell Photo credit: P. Warren

Observing is experiencing Using nature as a guide Ecosystems, climate & phenology USA National Phenology Network Photo credit: E. Alderson Photo credit: B. Powell Photo credit: P. Warren

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

David Bertelsen, Naturalist

What’s Phenology Finger Rock – Santa Catalina Mtns, Tucson Finger Rock Trail, Santa Catalina Mtns Tucson, AZ

Collected by a single individualCollected by a single individual 1984-present1984-present round-trip hikes (10 miles), 4158’ elevation gain1480+ round-trip hikes (10 miles), 4158’ elevation gain Approximately weeklyApproximately 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 records73,000 vertebrate records Photo credit: B. Wilder

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

RECORD KEEPING

Photo credit: P. Warren Observing is experiencing Using nature as a guide Ecosystems, climate, & phenology USA National Phenology Network Photo credit: E. Alderson Photo credit: B. Powell Photo credit: P. Warren

Distribution Abiotic Biotic Abundance

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

Annual average MINIMUM temperatures – 30 years

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

Mile 1 Mile 5 Mile 4 Mile 3 Mile 2 Desert scrub Scrub grassland Oak woodland Oak-pine woodland Pine forest 800 mm 300 mm 10 ºC 20 ºC Annual Average Precipitation Annual Average Temperature Elevation-Veg-Climate gradient

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

PLANT LIFE CYCLE GREEN GROWTH Requires Optimum Conditions

PLANT LIFE CYCLE FLOWER Requires Optimum Conditions

PLANT LIFE CYCLE SET SEED Requires Optimum Conditions

American kestrel Falco sparverius ©Wikimedia Commons Active

Complete Pupa INSECT LARVA PUPA ADULT

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

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

10 minutes

INTRODUCTION TO OBSERVATION 30 minutes Activity 3

PHENOLOGY CLIMATE CHANGE

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

Photo credit: P. Warren Observing is experiencing Using nature as a guide Ecosystems, climate, & phenology USA National Phenology Network Photo credit: E. Alderson Photo credit: B. Powell Photo credit: P. Warren

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

~4,500 active observers ~7,000 active sites species, many from M+ records Lilac data from 1956

Reproduction Development Method Activity ANIMAL  Active individuals  Feeding  Male combat  Mating  Young individuals  Dead individuals  Individuals at a feeding station Flowers Fruits Leaves  Young leaves  Leaves  Colored leaves  Flowers or flower buds  Open flowers  Ripe fruits  Recent seed or fruit drop PLANT PHENOPHASES …How Many?

Leaves Flowers Fruits red maple Photo: Ellen G Denny

Do you see…open flowers? 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 Cornus florida, ignore the four large, white bracts and watch for the opening of the small flowers in the center of the bracts. Photo: Derek Ramsey via Wikimedia Commons

Do you see…..Flowers or Flower Buds? Less than 3 3 to to to to 10,000 More than 10,000 Select the most appropriate bin Write 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 bin Write the bin on the line

Common loon Activity Reproduction Method Photo: P199, Wikimedia Commons

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

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

What are some OBSERVABLE life cycle events for  The red maple?  Common loon?  Monarch  Mayfly

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

Photo credit: S. Schaffer The Observation Deck

Enter Observations Online

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

DATA DOWNLOAD

"Snowman on frozen lake" by Petritap - Own work. Licensed under Creative Wikimedia Commons. "Spring in Somerville, NJ File 3" by Siddharth Mallya - Own work. Licensed under Creative Wikimedia Commons "Owoce wisni" by Nova - Own work. Licensed under Creative Wikimedia Commons By Hans [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons

2012. Primack, R. B, Miller-Rushing, A.J 7 day average 61 years 2-3 week average 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

New models incorporating Nature’s Notebook data predict when leaves will change color in the fall Phenology helps to predict the expansion of extremely allergenic ragweed Deciduous trees may leaf out weeks earlier under future warming