Released November 2, 2009
MADISON, Wisc. – Looking for a gift for the nature enthusiast on your list? Look no further. The 2010 Wildlife Phenology Calendar has arrived. Phenology is the study of periodic plant and animal life-cycle events in nature that are influenced by climate and seasonal change, such as wildlife emerging from hibernation, birds nesting or migrating, and flowers blooming.
Leopold data
Aldo Leopold recorded phenological events in Sauk County, Wisconsin beginning in 1936 and later translated some of these observations into his famous book, A Sand County Almanac. The dates in this calendar are based on Leopold’s data, as well as information gathered more recently by his daughter, Nina Leopold Bradley, and other natural resource professionals.
This year’s calendar focuses on the courtship and reproductive cycles of some of Wisconsin’s birds, mammals, fish, and reptiles. Most animals devote a great deal of their lives to finding mates and raising young; however, courtship behaviors, the birth and development of young, the number of offspring produced, and the amount of parental involvement vary greatly among species.
The calender was developed by the UW-Extension Environmental Resources Center, working with partners, the Wisconsin Natural Resource and Conservation Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Aldo Leopold Foundation.
To order, call toll-free: 1-877-947-7827 (WIS-PUBS) or visit Cooperative Extension Publishing’s website: http://learningstore.uwex.edu. Calendars will be delivered in early December.
--30--
Contact: Bruce Webendorfer, 608-262-1369, wbwebend@wisc.edu
