Volunteer Virtual Training: Phenology Monitoring

Watch out for spring! Phenology is the study of the timing of seasonal plant and animal life-cycle events, such as the flowering of plants, ripening of fruit, the emergence of insects, and migration of birds. Life-cycle events influence the abundance and distribution of organisms, which affects food webs, ecosystem services, and even global cycles of water and carbon. Monitoring phenological events can aid in the assessment of the vulnerability of species, populations, and ecological communities to ongoing climate change. Volunteers with the Salt Marsh Season Phenology Community Science Project will record observations of plant phenology and wildlife activity for selected species at designated salt marsh monitoring trails. Training will include salt marsh plant identification, phenotype identification, field techniques and data entry. This introductory training will occur virtually through zoom, and field trainings will be scheduled with small groups in February and March.