Phenology is the study of cyclical patterns in seasonal development in relation to the environment. The timing of certain 'phenophases,' such as flowering times in flowering plant species, can be monitored over time in order to track alterations to event timing and correlations to environmental variables. In the face of global, rapid environmental change, standardized phenology datasets are an important tool to understanding how species are responding to such changes. Montane and alpine regions in Colorado are expected to warm, followed by declines in snowpack, posing potential threats to cold-dependent, alpine species. The Mosquito Range mustard (Eutrema penlandii) is dependent upon saturated sites fed by perrenial snowfields. If these perrenial snow fields begin to disappear due to warming, it is important to monitor the response of E. penlandii.
MRHI has partnered with student volunteers from South Park High School to track phenology of E. penlandii throughout the growing season. Students will be entering their junior or senior years of high school, and planning to enroll in AP Biology during the term following field measurement, thus satisfying independent study requirements of the course.
The primary goals of this program are to 1) provide high school students in an under-resourced school district with the opportunity to explore career possibilities in natural resource fields and contribute to scientific discovery, 2) provide high school students with unique and outstanding resume-building opportunities, 3) generate important and useful data that may increase our understanding of an understudied, at-risk species, and 4) initiate a long-lasting phenology monitoring program to assess climate-induced changes to alpine environments.
To learn more about community phenology monitoring visit Project BudBurst at budburst.org
As always to learn more about any of our programs or projects please email us at info@mrhi.org
MRHI has partnered with student volunteers from South Park High School to track phenology of E. penlandii throughout the growing season. Students will be entering their junior or senior years of high school, and planning to enroll in AP Biology during the term following field measurement, thus satisfying independent study requirements of the course.
The primary goals of this program are to 1) provide high school students in an under-resourced school district with the opportunity to explore career possibilities in natural resource fields and contribute to scientific discovery, 2) provide high school students with unique and outstanding resume-building opportunities, 3) generate important and useful data that may increase our understanding of an understudied, at-risk species, and 4) initiate a long-lasting phenology monitoring program to assess climate-induced changes to alpine environments.
To learn more about community phenology monitoring visit Project BudBurst at budburst.org
As always to learn more about any of our programs or projects please email us at info@mrhi.org
Background Photo By: Dusty Gannon