phenology

Sep. 11th, 2017 07:47 am
prettygoodword: text: words are sexy (Default)
[personal profile] prettygoodword
phenology (fi-NOL-uh-jee) - n., the study of periodic biological phenomena (such as flowering, breeding, and migration) and how these are influenced by seasonal and yearly climate variations.


Which is a mouthful, to be sure, but I can't really make it any shorter and still do it justice, as both parts are integral to what's being studied. This was originally a very Victorian thing to do, noting down when recurring events happen along with the weather, but with climate change continuing apace, it has taken on new life. And yes, just about every annual biological phenomenon has been affected already. Borrowed in 1881 from German, originally coined in 1849 by Belgian botanist Charles Morren as a contraction of phenomenology.

---L.

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