Blog Archives

March 4, 2009 | 5:39 PM | By

Stop and Count The Poppies

ca_poppy2Here’s a new reason to take time to stop and smell the roses. Or at least count them.

A consortium of scientists called the USA-National Phenology Network (USA-NPN) is recruiting volunteers from across the country to help track the effects of climate change on ecosystems.

Described by executive director Jake Weltzin as a project ”for people interested in participating in climate change science, not just reading about it,” the network will collect data from government, academic, and “citizen” scientists to track the life-cycles of more than 200 plants, including California Poppies and Ponderosa Pines.  The project will begin tracking animals next year.

Phenology is the study of the seasonal cycles of plants and animals, such as plants sprouting, flowering and fruiting.   Abrupt changes in these patterns, due to climate change or other reasons, can be extremely disruptive to ecosystems.

USA-NPN hopes that the data collected will help scientists and resource managers “predict wildfires and pollen production, detect and control invasive species, monitor droughts, and assess the vulnerability of various plant and animal species to climate change. ”

Weltzin said that he hopes 100,000 citizen scientists will volunteer to help with the project.   Detailed information on how to participate is located at www.usanpn.org.

Listen here to an interview with Weltzin about the project on the U.S. Geological Survey’s website. Look for episode #85.

FILED UNDER: Ecosystems, Phenology
March 4, 2009 | 4:57 PM | By

Delta Smelt Listed as Endangered

The California Fish and Game Commission today officially qualified two species of freshwater fish for special protection under the California Endangered Species Act.

Longfin smelt. Photo: NOAA

Photo: NOAA

The Commission listed the delta smelt as “endangered” and the longfin smelt as “threatened,” a lesser classification. Both are denizens of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and have long been at the center of controversy over water diversions from the Delta. According to the San Francisco-based Center for Biological Diversity:

“The San Francisco Bay-Delta Estuary is home to the largest and southernmost self-sustaining population of longfin smelt. Longfin smelt populations that inhabit the estuaries and lower reaches of Humboldt Bay and the Klamath River have also declined and may now be extinct. Since 2000, the Bay-Delta longfin smelt population has fallen to unprecedented low numbers. Since 2002, the delta smelt has plummeted to its lowest population levels ever recorded.”

CBD was among the environmental groups that petitioned the state for listing of the longfin in 2007. Delta smelt have been protected as a “threatened” species since last year but today that designation was escalated to “endangered.” The Center has also petitioned for–but has yet to attain–federal listing for both species by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

The listing could have major implications for water supplies this year. Court decisions in favor of the fishes have already forced reductions in water pumped out of the Delta for diversion to the San Joaquin Valley and Southern California. The rulings have prompted some to characterize subsequent reduced water deliveries as a “regulatory drought.”

FILED UNDER: Water, Agriculture, Conservation, Delta, Fish and Game, Smelt, Water