Phenology is the study of the timing of recurring biological events in organisms, particularly plants and animals, and the environmental drivers that regulate these events. It focuses on phase transitions such as leaf-out, flowering, fruiting, migration, and reproduction, and quantifies their relationships with abiotic factors like temperature, photoperiod, and precipitation. As a research topic, phenology integrates field observations, remote sensing, and modeling to analyze interannual variability, long-term trends, and spatial patterns. It is central to understanding organismal responses to climate variability and change, trophic synchrony or mismatch, and feedbacks between biosphere processes and the climate system.
It often starts with something small, such as a new bird in a branch, a vibrant butterfly in a yard, a colorful plant growing through a crack in the sidewalk, or as part of a lawn. Suddenly, you are engaged and can't help ...
Environment
Apr 13, 2026
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35
A large-scale experiment shows that warmth brings bees and wasps out of hibernation earlier—leaving some of them with poorer starting conditions. This is particularly true for species in cooler regions that emerge during ...
Plants & Animals
Apr 13, 2026
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154
Warming temperatures from climate change cause tree swallows to nest up to two weeks earlier than they did in the 1970s, but early spring cold snaps can hinder nestlings' growth and survival, according to a new study that ...
Plants & Animals
Apr 6, 2026
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7
Identifying weeds, checking out the pollen map, or discovering new plant life-forms are among the promising wealth of data available to users of PlantNet—a "Shazam!" for plants. Pierre Bonnet and computer scientist Alexis ...
Biotechnology
Mar 31, 2026
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44
In 2014, Felicity Newell joined the Florida Museum of Natural History as a doctoral student, then promptly left the country in search of a tropical spring. It's a concept she started thinking about while doing biological ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 27, 2026
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313
The word "nemotia" is a neologism, a newly coined term that in this case, describes the sense of overwhelmingness and disconnect accompanying the thought that nothing you do will ever make a difference. If this describes ...
Ecology
Mar 24, 2026
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14
Plants, like people, have a circadian clock and they sense seasonal changes to light and temperature. Plants that bloom in the spring use the longer days and warmer temperatures as seasonal cues that it's time to bloom.
Plants & Animals
Mar 18, 2026
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14
South of Fall Creek by the edge of the woods, the moths would gather. They were, of course, drawn by light—set out by a researcher working in Cornell University's old Insectory building. In 1889, the lure came from a kerosene ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 17, 2026
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13
If you were a bee, how would you choose a flower to land on? You might go to the most beautiful one, as pollination biologists have long suggested that flowers with striking colors attract pollinators more easily. Or perhaps, ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 13, 2026
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24
The warming world has disrupted the timing for plant and animal reproduction, and it's usually bad news for species that depend on each other—like flowers blooming too early and pollinating bees arriving too late. But researchers ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 11, 2026
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