In this webinar, USA-NPN staff shared details of research studies that used your Nature's Notebook data in 2022 and an update on campaigns and new features coming in 2022. Find out if your data were used this year!

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Desert Refuge: Monarchs and Milkweeds in Arizona is an effort to learn more about the overwintering behavior of monarchs in Arizona. Observers register a milkweed plant and check once a week for milkweed leafing and flowering and monarch adults, mating, egg laying, and caterpillars. This project is a collaboration with Desert Botanical Garden with funding from Monarch Joint Venture and USFS International Programs. Arizona folks, don't miss our training October 27th! 

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Nature's Notebook data have been used to identify critical windows of opportunity for treating invasive plants and insect pests. For example, here we show the number of days between when invasive buffelgrass is green enough to spray with herbicide, but before it spreads its seeds. 

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We know plants respond when the days get longer in the spring and shorter in the fall, but what happens when it’s still light, after sunset? Using data on dozens of species and hundreds of sites in the Nature’s Notebook dataset, Lin Meng and colleagues found that the presence of artificial light advances breaking leaf buds and delays leaf color change. The ecological impact of artificial light at night has not been well-documented, and it’s a great opportunity to reflect on your local landscape at night and to think about how the plants you observe might be responding. 

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A new study from researchers at the University of Ottawa found that early spring arrival could spell trouble for bumblebees. They found most bees were unable to shift their emergence from hibernation to keep up with early springs, and the bees that woke too early had lower smaller colonies and lower survival rates.   

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Researchers have identified which locations in the Midwest will likely suit monarchs best under future climate conditions. Due to uncertainty in how much the climate will change, the researchers forecasted changes in monarch populations for four emissions scenarios. There is still much that is unknown about how populations will change, even in the short term. Your Nature's Notebook data on monarchs and their food and habitat plants such as milkweed are so important! 

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We are still looking for submissions for the new "Local Phenology Programs in Action" section of our new website! Send a brief 1-2 sentence describing what your Program is all about. We also want a photo of your observers in the field (see the great one at right from Claire O'Neill with Earthwise Aware), or a photo of your site or plants or animals you are observing. 

Email Erin your quote and photo »

We've had some great discussions lately on our Local Phenology Leader Monthly Calls! Volunteer Engagement Coordinator Samantha has been sharing some fun phenology activities that you can use for workshops and zoom trainings, and we've generated some helpful ideas about engaging volunteers and visitors in phenology observations. Join us every third Friday! We are also looking for suggestions for future call topics.

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How will climate change impact your state? NOAA has created a helpful website with visuals to help you understand the impacts. Each state summary, updated this year, consists of a description of the historical climate conditions in the state, as well as the climate conditions associated with future pathways of greenhouse gas emissions.

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The research group of Dr. Sydne Record seeks applicants for one Ph.D. position in Ecology and Environmental Sciences at the University of Maine in Orono in the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Conservation Biology starting in January 2023. This is a fully funded PhD researching phenological sensitivity to climate change using USA-NPN, NEON, and digitized herbarium data!

Learn more and apply »