Download Plant & Animal Observing Program

USA-NPN – USFWS Partnership in Phenology Monitoring & Education
Nature’s Notebook: Plant & Animal Observing Program
L. Barnett, K. Kilcullen, T. M. Crimmins, E.G. Denny, C. Enquist, R. L. Marsh, A. Rosemartin, J. Weltzin
D. Inouye
What is phenology?
Phenology is the study of recurring plant and animal life cycle events
such as leafing and flowering of plants, maturation of agricultural
crops, emergence of insects, and migration of birds.
USA-NPN & US FWS Partnership
Science in the Refuge System
Partnership Goals:
✓ Methodology and educational tools for engaging with
nature and contributing to climate science research
✓ Streamlined data collection processes, with
user-friendly interfaces to record phenophase data;
contributes to data integrity
D. Inouye
Nature’s Notebook resources
The national phenology database encompasses over
75,000 observations of 160 species of animals and 258
species of plants from nearly 5,000 locations. Nature’s
Notebook provides a user-friendly interface and
visualization tools for data exploration.
Why observe phenology?
Phenology is simple to observe and record. Also, phenological events
are sensitive to climatic variation and change. For example we now
know:
• In New York, spring peepers breed earlier now than in the 1900s1
• In Wisconsin, largeleaf wild indigo & butterfly weed bloom 18 days
earlier than in the 1940s; common & marsh milkweed bloom
about 12 days earlier2
• In the NE U.S., lilacs, apple trees, & grape vines are blooming 2-8
days earlier than in the 1960s3
• In northern California, the field skipper butterfly emerges nearly 30
days earlier than in the 1980s4
What is the USA-NPN?
The USA National Phenology Network (USA-NPN) brings together
citizen scientists, government agencies, non-profit groups, educators
and students of all ages to monitor the impacts of climate change on
plants and animals in the United States. The USA-NPN was created
in response to the need for rigorous plant and animal phenology data
to better inform resource management decisions and to further our
understanding of ecosystem response to climate change.
Nature's Notebook engages Refuge System employees,
volunteers and visitors as scientists and citizen scientists
and educates users about the effects of climate change on
refuges. Data are contributed to the national phenology
database for research and resource management
decisions.
For more information please contact:
LoriAnne Barnett, USA-NPN Education Coordinator
(520) 792-0481  [email protected]
Kevin Kilcullen, NWRS Chief of Visitor Services
(703) 358-2382  [email protected]
Extensive support and training materials are available on the
USA-NPN website (www.usanpn.org/resources/resources):
Scripted presentations &
voiced videos
“How to Observe”
Handbook
Please take our survey if you are interested in adding
phenology programming to your refuge
or would like to offer us feedback on resources!
References
1Gibbs and Breisch (2001) Cons Biol 15:1175-1178; Blaustein et al. (2001) Cons Biol
15:1804-1809; 2Bradley et al. (1999) PNAS 96:9701-9704; 3Wolfe et al. (2005) Int J
Biometeorol 49:303-309; 4butterfly.ucdavis.edu