Science Diary: Mohonk – Signals from Nature

Music

PH: “You’re constantly looking for signals from nature, and the more you spend your life doing this, the more you’re picking up on the signals the story that nature is telling you.”

JM: At the Mohonk Preserve, in New York’s Hudson Valley, they’ve been listening to and keeping records of the signals from nature for over 100 years. And that’s given them some unique opportunities. Welcome to Pulse of the Planet’s Science Diaries, a glimpse of the world of science from the inside. Paul Huth is director of research at the Mohonk Preserve.

PH: “With 114 years or so of record, you can begin to investigate change over time It’s what we look for here: birds changing, staying over winter, where they hadn’t stayed over winter in the past; changes in mammal population, insect emergence and so forth. We’re basically watching several hundred species for the date of when they emerge during the growing season. So it’s a very broad program that we’re trying to maintain over the long term.”

JM: These kinds of records from one place over a long period of time can give scientists clues as to whether and how our climate may be changing. For Paul Huth, though, it’s not just a matter of keep records.

PH: “A naturalist, or one in tune with nature, uses all of their senses to record: your eyes, of course, watching for cut stumps and drill marks on rock from the old historic carriage roadwork; the smell, of the springness in the air; but also hearingthe sound of birds, the sound of water, all of the senses that you have should be put to use. And I think that the more you can do that, the more you become in tune with nature.”

Please check out our website at pulseplanet.com. Pulse of the Planet’s Science Diaries are made possible by the National Science Foundation. I’m Jim Metzner.

Science Diary: Mohonk - Signals from Nature

Naturalists tune in to the rhythms of nature using all of our senses.

Air Date:03/13/2015

Scientist:

Transcript:

Science Diary: Mohonk - Signals from Nature

Music

PH: "You're constantly looking for signals from nature, and the more you spend your life doing this, the more you're picking up on the signals the story that nature is telling you."

JM: At the Mohonk Preserve, in New York's Hudson Valley, they've been listening to and keeping records of the signals from nature for over 100 years. And that's given them some unique opportunities. Welcome to Pulse of the Planet's Science Diaries, a glimpse of the world of science from the inside. Paul Huth is director of research at the Mohonk Preserve.

PH: "With 114 years or so of record, you can begin to investigate change over time It's what we look for here: birds changing, staying over winter, where they hadn't stayed over winter in the past; changes in mammal population, insect emergence and so forth. We're basically watching several hundred species for the date of when they emerge during the growing season. So it's a very broad program that we're trying to maintain over the long term."

JM: These kinds of records from one place over a long period of time can give scientists clues as to whether and how our climate may be changing. For Paul Huth, though, it's not just a matter of keep records.

PH: "A naturalist, or one in tune with nature, uses all of their senses to record: your eyes, of course, watching for cut stumps and drill marks on rock from the old historic carriage roadwork; the smell, of the springness in the air; but also hearingthe sound of birds, the sound of water, all of the senses that you have should be put to use. And I think that the more you can do that, the more you become in tune with nature."

Please check out our website at pulseplanet.com. Pulse of the Planet's Science Diaries are made possible by the National Science Foundation. I'm Jim Metzner.