BIO220H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Phenology, Alternative Hypothesis, Ocean Acidification

• School: UTSG
• Department: Biology
• Course: BIO220H1
• Professor: John Stinchcombe

Document Summary

By measuring physiological processes of organisms that are temperature sensitive we are getting a signal on how temperature is affecting the organisms themselves. The vast majority of canadian lakes, are experiencing earlier thaw. We can imagine that this is a change in the timing of a key habitat from having a closed surface to having an open surface. Example 2: data showing budburst in european birch and oaks. Flowering weeks earlier spring is coming earlier. This is affecting the entire plant community. The caterpillars are tied to eating the leaves of the oak trees, so they are reaching their peak biomass earlier. Peak abundance is coming earlier and earlier, declining line. Caterpillars are the main food source for birds in the spring. The cascade phenology: earlier leaves / budburst, caterpillars eating the leaves, birds eating the caterpillars for caloric intake. Caterpillars lay the base for the birds, whether they can reproduce or not etc .