Day and night will soon align, marking the start of spring. But the timing of nature’s calendar is starting to fall out of sync.
In a study published in Nature Climate Change, a team of researchers from the University of South Florida in Tampa found that animal species are shifting the timing of their seasonal activities, also known as phenology, at different rates in response to changing seasonal temperatures and precipitation patterns.
“As species’ lifecycles grow out of alignment, it can affect the functioning of ecosystems with potential impacts on human food supplies and diseases,” said lead author Jeremy Cohen, PhD, postdoctoral researcher at the University of South Florida Department of Integrative Biology. “We rely on honeybees to pollinate seasonal crops and migratory birds to return in the spring to eat insects that are crop pests and vectors of human diseases. If the timing of these and other seasonal events are off, ecosystems can malfunction with potentially adverse effects on humans.”
Dr. Cohen and his team found that cold-blooded species and those with small body sizes are breeding or aggregating earlier than warm-blooded or large-bodied species in spring. They come to this conclusion after reviewing thousands of records of phenological shifts dating back to the 1950s.
“Our research elucidates the drivers of phenological responses and the traits of organisms that influence their ability to track changing climates,” said co-author Jason Rohr, PhD, professor at the University of South Florida. “We expect these findings to improve our ability to forecast the locations, systems and species that might be at the greatest risk from climate change and ideally mitigate any adverse effects that these changes might have on the services that ecosystems provide to humans.”
Learn more: Changing weather patterns throwing ecosystems out of whack
The Latest on: Changing weather patterns
[google_news title=”” keyword=”changing weather patterns” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
via Google News
The Latest on: Changing weather patterns
- The Power of Us: Climate change has disproportionately impacted these vulnerable US communities, experts sayon April 27, 2024 at 6:01 am
Researchers have been warning for years that the world's most vulnerable populations will suffer the most dire consequences of climate change. In the U.S., immigrant communities are often on the ...
- Climate change supercharged a heat dome, intensifying 2021 fire season, study findson April 27, 2024 at 4:00 am
“What happens is you get a stagnated weather pattern — it’s very hot and very dry,” said ... The study adds to a body of literature documenting how the fingerprints of climate change can be detected ...
- Climate Change Is Making Homeownership More Expensive. Here’s How to Weather the Stormon April 26, 2024 at 1:58 pm
Climate change increases the cost of homeownership in a variety of ways, from higher insurance premiums and household repairs to steeper energy bills and urgent upgrades.
- Could climate change bring paradigm shift in biodiversity tracking?on April 26, 2024 at 7:47 am
Similar to humans, animals are largely dependent on the weather. So, how we track our biodiversity is likely to change as the planet endures an evolving climate with more extreme weather events ...
- Will climate change suck the air out of Illinois' wind power industry?on April 26, 2024 at 3:29 am
Wind and solar are supposed to replace coal plants that are closing, but that didn’t happen in 2023. Another fossil fuel, natural gas, filled the void.
- Scientists find the fingerprints of climate change on Dubai’s deadly floodson April 25, 2024 at 8:04 am
The record-breaking rain that fell over the UAE and Oman was driven partly by the climate crisis, an analysis shows, pointing to the role of burning fossil fuels.
- Pattern Change Returns Thursdayon April 24, 2024 at 9:33 pm
A live TV news station covering breaking news and traffic for Colorado Springs, Pueblo, and Southern Colorado with a strong investigative team ...
- Cooling Down, Cloudy, Pattern Changeon April 24, 2024 at 4:20 am
Good Morning. Today is the transitional period into a wetter and cooler weather pattern that sustains all the way through early next week. The morning begins with temps in the ...
- Change In Weather Pattern Coming After Soggy Start To Weekendon April 20, 2024 at 4:10 am
A soggy start to the weekend will be followed by a big change in the weather pattern. A quick-moving system that swept through the region overnight is expected to bring a widespread quarter of an inch ...
via Bing News