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.
Artificial light at night extends pollen season and increases allergen exposure in Northeastern United States cities. Lin Meng and colleagues analyzed 12 years of pollen data from 12 monitoring stations across the Northeastern ...
Plants & Animals
Jan 20, 2026
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16
A decade-long study led by Penguin Watch, at the University of Oxford and Oxford Brookes University, has uncovered a record shift in the breeding season of Antarctic penguins, likely in response to climate change.
Plants & Animals
Jan 20, 2026
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894
Climate change has a wide range of effects on wildlife. It affects seasonal migration, reproduction times, body size and mass, and disrupts ecological processes, thereby posing challenges for the populations of some species. ...
Evolution
Jan 19, 2026
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630
Scientists have developed a powerful new microscope that reveals, for the first time, how plants store a 'memory' of winter deep inside their cells.
Plants & Animals
Jan 19, 2026
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917
Climate change is causing trees to sprout earlier in spring. Nevertheless, some tree species are growing less. A study by the Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL shows that increasing heat and drought are slowing down the ...
Plants & Animals
Jan 7, 2026
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23
Through DNA analysis of old air samples collected by the Swedish Armed Forces, researchers at Lund University in Sweden can show that spore dispersal of northern mosses has shifted over the past 35 years. It now starts several ...
Plants & Animals
Nov 26, 2025
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26
Every year, billions of dollars' worth of crops worldwide perish due to pre-harvest sprouting (PHS), a phenomenon in which grain or seeds germinate on the plant before harvest. The process is triggered by a variety of factors, ...
One of the enduring ichthyological mysteries is how migratory fish know when it is time to move from their winter to summer habitats. The ability to tell when the seasons are changing is crucial for a wide range of major ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 22, 2025
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24
Warming temperatures and earlier snowmelt are disrupting the long-running relationship between wildflowers and their pollinators on Colorado's Pikes Peak.
Plants & Animals
Oct 21, 2025
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31
Circadian clocks of wheat can provide a window into the plant's nutrient content and life cycle, finds new research that could improve agricultural production and crop resilience in a changing climate.
Agriculture
Oct 19, 2025
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53
