phenology
1
8.8
- noun
- /fəˈnɒlədʒi/
- Specialized
- Leaf development phenology differed among years in relation to spring temperatures (Fig. 2).
- leaf phenology
- plant phenology
- tree phenology
Examples
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Researchers study phenology to determine how climate change influences the timing of flowering in plants.
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Land use can fragment formerly continuous native land cover, whereas climate change may affect the phenology and geographic distribution of species.
Academic text (2011) -
NASA climate scientists have worked with researchers from other disciplines to learn how the change affects phenology.
Academic text (2013) -
Differences occur in tree structure, phenology, and physiology; in forest structure; and in rates of ecosystem processes.
Academic text (1997) -
Although the general phenology of migration is relatively predictable from year to year, the magnitude of those migrations is not.
Academic text (1992) -
Warming also appears to be shifting the phenologies of anadromous fishes towards earlier spawning runs.
Academic text (2009) -
Pooled data can be analyzed to illuminate population trends, range changes, and shifts in phenologies.
Academic text (2009) -
The combined effects of changes in dispersal and phenology may disrupt mutualisms from pollination to the tending of butterflies by ants.
Academic text (2011) -
Conversely, some migratory birds (e.g., those feeding from foliage or on emerging aquatic insects) may benefit from advancing phenology.
Academic text (2012) -
The project on phenology collects data on when birds migrate and when flowers bloom each year.
Surface Forms
Morphology
phenology = pheno + logy
Although the word is built from a classical combining form plus the suffix '-logy', the meaning 'study of seasonal timing in organisms' is not readily recoverable for an average learner from those parts.
Etymology
The word phenology breaks into phen- ('to appear') and -logy ('study'), like in phenomenon and biology, so it helps you remember that this field watches when things 'appear' in nature. That's why phenology means the study of the timing of seasonal events in plants and animals.