Below is a blog post I just wrote for where I work. An interesting thing to be aware of....
“Isn't that
early?” This is a question I have been hearing time and time again since spring
set in. From the San Jacinto mountains of California where I teach during the school
year to the Northwoods it seems that nature's timing is changing—and this can
have startling effects on humans and non-humans alike.
After a
showing of Green Fire (the documentary about Aldo Leopold's life and influence)
I led a discussion several weeks ago. As always seems to happen as of late, the
conversation veered off towards phenology (nature's timing). We learned from
one community member that on average the lake he lives on is frozen for 50 less
days per year than it was just twenty years ago when he relocated to the area.
This fact alone is startling, but when taken in the context of some of the
creatures that share these northern lands with us, it might be a question of
survival.
The snowshoe
hare, for instance, changes color when the amount of light per day changes.
This color change will thus happen at the same time each year regardless of
weather and plant conditions. Since snow sticks around for a shorter amount of
time, and arrives later on average, this could leave the white-colored hares
prone to predation in an environment they no longer blend in with.
Here is a
link to an article about snowshoe hares and color change in a shifting climate:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090224220347.htm
“Something
mysterious happens when we look into the eyes of an animal, whether it be a
panther or a poodle—we see something familiar looking back. Ourselves? Yes, but
we also see an 'other.' We see something that is in us and yet without us,
something we recognize and yet is unfamiliar, something we fear but for which
we long. We see the wild.” –Renée Askins
Mammals are
not the only creatures that could be negatively affected by the phenological
shifts that are happening across our planet. Our avian friends could find
struggles in their paths in the near future as well. Birds (along with mammals in
many instances) are influenced greatly by day length.
"Day length, or photoperiod,
plays a key role in the control system that synchronizes the physiologies of individual birds
and their environment...Molt and preparation for migration
also are triggered by changes in day
length" (Gill, 2007).
If, for
instance, a certain species of bird depends on a particular species of berry to
build up fat stores for migration and that berry becomes ripe a month sooner
than usual the bird will not have that nutrition source when they prepare to travel
to their winter habitat. Conversely, when they migrate north, if a major spring
food source has already come to fruition and been consumed by permanent
residents the birds may not find the necessary nutrition to nest and nourish
their young.
Robins love
to eat raspberries.
So, enjoy
the raspberries that are now ripe in our roadsides and back-country meadows,
but remember to be conscious of the changes that are occurring all around us.
Perhaps while you enjoy a raspberry sundae you can jot down the events you noticed
during your picking expeditions. What other types of berries did you see? How
large were the deer fawns you witnessed? When did you first notice loon chicks
on the lakes near where you live? Having a base knowledge about nature's timing
can help us to understand, and perhaps even help, the other species that share
these forests with us.
“One has
only to consider the life force...to lay the mind wide open to the mysteries—the order of things, the why and
beginning....One question leads inevitably to another, and all questions come
full circle to the questioner, paused momentarily in his own journey under the
sun and sky.” –Peter Mattheissen
Works
Cited
Gill, F.
B. (2007). Ornithology. (3rd ed.). W. H. Freeman.
Snowshoe
Hare picture from NPS.gov
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