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Montage of phenology-related images. Bottom right: Oak leaves (Pete Holmes /Woodland Trust Picture Library), Top left: Eudorina, a freshwater alga (Julie Parker/Centre for Ecology & Hydrology), Bottom left: Atlantic salmon smolt (David Hay/Freshwater Fisheries Laboratory), Top right: Kittiwake (Mark Newell/ Centre for Ecology & Hydrology).
The analysis combines data on a diversity of taxa from marine, freshwater and terrestrial environments

 

Will earlier springs throw nature out of step? 09 February 2010

The recent trend towards earlier UK springs and summers has been accelerating, according to a study published today (9 February 2010) in the scientific journal Global Change Biology.

The collaborative study, involving scientists from 12 UK research institutions, universities and conservation organisations, is the most comprehensive and rigorous assessment so far of long-term changes in the seasonal timing (phenology) of biological events across marine, freshwater and terrestrial environments in the UK.

Led by Dr Stephen Thackeray and Professor Sarah Wanless of the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, the research gathers together more than 25,000 long-term phenology trends for 726 species of plants and animals. More than 80% of trends between 1976 and 2005 indicate earlier seasonal events. The study considers a diverse array of organisms including plankton, plants, insects, amphibians, fish, birds and mammals.

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  • detail of a leaf CEH Multimedia Links Find out more about CEH science with our video and podcast links. Subjects include the long-term effects of radiation, the GroDome facility at CEH's Wallingford site and land surface modelling. Go to Podcasts and videos.
     

  • The Earth How to spend $100 billion? Politicians say we should invest to help vulnerable people adapt to climate change. But how should we spend the money? Chris Huntingford and John Burrows of CEH say better climate models will provide the answers. Read more on Planet Earth Online(external link).