In Ecology, Timing is Everything
The study of phenology is exceedingly complex, in part because of its intrinsic variability, interactions between numerous biotic and abiotic factors, and multiple scales at which observations are recorded. In this month’s installment of Beyond the Frontier, listen to Dr. Jeffrey Morisette and Dr. Andrew Richardson discuss recent technological advances in phenological analyses, as reported in their paper published in the June 2009 issue of Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, entitled “Tracking the rhythm of the seasons in the face of global change: phenological research in the 21st century”. In addition to explaining phenology’s importance, the authors also describe some of the key challenges associated with predicting these recurring biological events.
