Become a Citizen Scientist by
tracking plants and animals with
Erin Posthumus
Outreach Coordinator
December 14, 2016
Photo: John Phelan via Wikimedia Commons
Photo: John Phelan via Wikimedia Commons
Photo: John Phelan via Wikimedia Commons
Photo: ptwo via Wikimedia Commons
Photo: victorgrigas via Wikimedia Commons
Letter from the Morgan Library & Museum, New York
Photo of Henry David Thoreau from the
National Portrait Gallery
Chart from the Morgan Library & Museum, New York
Flowering plants
2012. Primack, R. B, Miller-Rushing, A.J
Photo: FHWA via Wikimedia Commons
Jefferson
Powell
Leopold
Leopold-Bradley
Photos: Jefferson portrait by Rembrandt Peale, Powell images from the National
Portrait Gallery, Washington, Aldo Leopold portrail from Aldo Leopold Foundation,
Nina Leopold Bradley photo from Journal Sentinel files,
Other early phenologists
What changes are we seeing
in the Southwest?
Broad-tailed hummingbird, Photo: Tom Grey
2012. McKinney, et al
Broad-tailed hummingbird, Photo: Tom Grey
2012. McKinney, et al
Sonoran Desert
Winter rains
shifting later
1980s
Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May
2000s
Cold-adapted
plants
Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May
2010. Kimball et al
Finger Rock Trail
2009. Crimmins et al
Finger Rock Trail
25 years later,
93 of 363 plants
shifted
2009. Crimmins et al
What is USA-NPN all about?
Collect • Store • Share
• Advancing Science
• Informing Management
• Communicating & Connecting
Photos: Brian F Powell
phenology data & information
8,500+ active observers
8,700+ active sites
8.9M+ records*
* As of
Dec 2016
How do we observe phenology?
Observable life cycle events or PHENOPHASES
ANIMAL
Activity
Reproduction
PLANT
Leaves
Flowers
Development
Fruits
Nature’s Notebook: Protocols
Standardized protocols for 815 plant and 322 animal
species*
*As of Spring 2016
Nature’s Notebook: Interface
Paper datasheets and a web browser OR mobile apps
Nature’s Notebook: Training
Resources online and in print, including a one-hour
training course
Nature’s Notebook: Data Visualization
Personalized phenology calendars and tools for data
exploration of all data in the National Phenology
Database
Nature’s Notebook: Quality Control
Quality assurance – for the
data coming in
Quality control – for the data
in the National Phenology
Database
Available at www.usanpn.org/pubs/reports
Where do the data go?
What we’ve learned
so far from
Phenology observations help manage invasive species
(Wallace et al. 2016, Chapman et al 2014)
Warmer winters affect timing of spring leaf out in plants
(Fu et al. 2015, Mazer et al 2015)
Daytime temperatures - rather than nighttime - trigger
leafing in temperate plants (Piao et al 2015)
Springs are arriving earlier (Allstadt et al 2015) and the
growing season is getting longer (Yue et al 2015)
and more! Visit www.usanpn.org/nn/vignettes.
Tucson Phenology Trail
Current locations include:
• Biosphere 2
• UA Campus
• Sam Hughes Neighborhood
• Pima Extension Offices
• Tucson Botanical Garden
• Tucson Audubon Mason
Center
• Santa Rita Experimental
Range
• Arizona Senior Academy?
3-10 species tagged at each
1/15/14
2/1/14
2/15/14
3/1/14
3/15/14
4/1/14
4/15/14
5/1/14
5/15/14
6/1/14
6/15/14
7/1/14
7/15/14
8/1/14
8/15/14
9/1/14
9/15/13
10/1/14
10/15/14
11/1/14
11/15/14
12/1/14
12/15/14
1/1/15
Frequency of "yes observations"
Frequency of Tucson Hummingbirds:
Active Individuals
40
Time Period
No
Yes
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
"The question is not what you look at, but
what you see.“
—Henry David Thoreau
Join us!
Become an observer at:
www.naturesnotebook.org
Questions?
Contact [email protected]