Further information: Carol Trosset : Timing in Nature

Expanded description:

All readings for the course will be provided as .pdf files or found on websites.  No materials will have to be purchased.

Schedule:

Week 1 – An introductory discussion of phenology and citizen science, and an overview of how to read scientific papers and look at data sets on web sites. Carol will share her work on 40 years of data collected by her mother in Cincinnati Ohio.

Week 2 – When Birds Migrate

  • Dunn and Winkler, “Climate Change has Affected the Breeding Date of Tree Swallows”
  • Rosenfield et al, “Shift to Later Timing by Autumnal Migrating Sharp-shinned Hawks”
  • ebird.org

Week 3 – When Wildflowers Bloom

  • Tooke and Battey, “Temperate Flowering Phenology”
  • Ziska et al, “Increased Length of Ragweed Pollen Season”
  • usanpn.org

Week 4 – Mammals and Amphibians

  • Cherry et al, “Migration Phenology of an Arctic Predator in Relation to Sea Ice Dynamics”
  • Gibbs and Breisch, “Climate Warming and Calling Phenology of Frogs”
  • dnr.state.mn.us/volunteering/frogtoad_survey

Week 5 – Insects

  • Diamond et al, “Phenological Responses of Butterflies to Urbanization and Temperature”
  • monarchwatch.org
  • massaudubon.org/get-involved/citizen-science/firefly-watch

Week 6 – Long-term Trends in Wildflowers

  • McEwan et al, “Flowering Phenology Change and Climate Warming in Ohio”
  • Dunnell and Travers, “Flowering Phenology of the Northern Great Plains over 100 Years”

Week 7 – Long-term Trends in Bird Migration

  • Ledneva et al, “Climate Change as Reflected in a Naturalist’s Diary in Massachusetts”
  • Swanson and Palmer, “Spring Migration Phenology of Birds in the Northern Prairie Region”

Week 8 – Interactions

  • Solga et al, “Timing is Everything: Phenological Changes to Plants and Their Pollinators”