Module 3: The Effect of Climate Change on Phenology and Interspecific Interactions

Course:

• Introductory Ecology (Sophomores or Juniors)

Length:

• This exercise is designed as a 3-hour laboratory experience.
• The assessment is completed as a take-home assignment.

Objectives:

• Measure shifts in the timing of life history events due to climate change.
• Predict the effects of phenology shifts on interspecific interactions.
• Collect, clean, and analyze data from a digitized natural history collection.

Activities:

• Students collect temperature data from weather/climate database.
• Students collect data on butterfly plants phenology from digitized natural history collections.
• Students collect data on butterfly phenology from digitized natural history collections.
• Students analyze the three data sets to identify correlations between temperature change and shifts in the phenology of butterfly food plants and butterflies.
• Students make predictions about the effects of phenology shifts on the population sizes of the plants and butterflies.
• Students read parts of a primary literature article about the phenology of the pied flycatcher and its prey, butterfly larvae, and draw conclusions about the interactions between all three groups (butterfly food plants, butterflies, and flycatchers).

Assessment:

• Students complete a case study assessment investigating phenology shifts in the early spider orchid (Ophyrs sphegodes) and its pollinator, the solitary bee (Andrena nigroaenea).
• Students graph provided temperature, flowering time, and date of first bee flight data to visualize the changes in phenology.
• Students make predictions about the effects of the phenology shifts on the orchid population.