“Phenology” is a term that refers to the timing of events in nature. Understanding phenology provides us with answers to such questions as: “When does this bird nest?” “When does a plant bloom in our area?” “When does this bird molt?” What competitors, predators, or habitat characteristics might influence when a species is present or successful? The obviously repeated word here is “when”, but phenology also incorporates the question “Why does this timing occur?” The answers to the “Why?” are diverse – sometimes referring to day length, seasonal weather patterns, the presence or absence of predators or competitors, the age, physical characteristics or spatial distribution of plants in a habitat, or diverse seasonal energy demands on the subject of our interest. In short, the key to understanding “phenology” is to understand the physical and biological complexity of the world in which a species lives and the impacts of that complexity on the life of the creature we are focusing on.
Phenology: The timing of events in nature
