“British Wildlife and Climate Change: Phenology - the timing of natural events.

Monitoring the timings of the seasons is highly important in raising awareness of climate change, in getting people involved in monitoring, and in identifying possible adverse consequences of future warming to British wildlife.

"Harmless Pastime or Serious Science - what does phenology tell us about the impacts of a changing climate?”

Monitoring the timings of the seasons is a simple yet highly enjoyable activity. For this reason the UK has a wealth of data going back more than two centuries. These data take many forms; from an individual’s records of the timing of a single event, such as frog spawning in their garden pond, to records from national networks of protocol-controlled data collection. This lecture will cover some of the history of phenology, pausing to reveal the sometimes peculiar sources of data, and give an overview of current recording. Examples will be given of the changes already taking place, despite relatively modest climate warming so far. In many species, phenological response to a changing climate is much stronger and much easier to detect than other climate impacts. Consequently it is highly important in raising awareness of climate change, in getting people involved in monitoring, and in identifying possible adverse consequences of future warming.

Dr Tim Sparks is an environmental scientist at the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology at Monks Wood. He was instrumental in resurrecting a national network of recorders of phenology (the timing of events) that is now, in partnership with the Woodland Trust, in its tenth year. He has undertaken extensive research on the impacts of climate change on plants and animals, with an emphasis on changes in phenology. To this end he makes considerable use of current and historic data and collaborates widely, both within the UK and elsewhere in Europe.

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