Dona Siatras is a hunter. Like most hunters she equips herself with specific tools, she stalks out a specific route and she follows a set procedure. And like all hunters, the main skill she relies on is observation.

But unlike most hunters, Siatras is chasing milkweed and Monarch butterflies, and she has no interest in capturing them.

Siatras is part of a program that began last year to monitor and record phenological changes around the state. Phenology is the study of plant and animal life cycles and how these cycles are affected by a changing climate.

Volunteers in the Signs of the Seasons Program diligently watch selected “indicator species” on predesignated sites (most often their own back yards), and “start recording the observations about the life cycles of those plants and animals,” said Esperanza Stancioff, the manager and co-coordinator of the program in Maine along with Beth Bisson.

Phenological data could be, for example, the arrival of a migratory species to a site. Or “the timing of a bud burst,” Stancioff explained. “And not seeing a species is just as helpful as seeing something on the list.”

On Siatras’ sites, which comprise her yard and four other yards in her Cape Elizabeth neighborhood, she observes lilac, forsythia, milkweed, monarchs, American robins and ruby-throated humming birds — though not dandelion (another indicator species) because, she said, “my neighbors don’t want dandelions on their lawns.”

The 13 indicator species monitored, which also include the common loon, wild strawberry and the sugar maple, “are commonly found throughout Maine and are easy to identify,” said Stancioff. Importantly, information about the life cycles of these species helps scientists track larger biological and ecological trends and make predictions about how a changing climate will affect ecosystems in Maine.

“It’s different for each indicator species,” Siatras explained. “We record the date, the time, the method of observing  . . . we record if there’s snow . . . and if the species has been seen.” From there, the observations become more specific, such as when the first dandelion plants sprout or when the first leaves appear on the milkweeds.

Phenology as a discipline has existed since the time of the ancient Greeks, though in modern times it has been practiced mainly by farmers and agricultural scientists. While various groups around the country already record local phenological data, Signs of the Seasons is one of the first statewide programs of its kind to record and aggregate data on such a varied list of interconnected species, according to Stancioff. “While there are other programs in the country that have been engaged in phenology work much longer,” she said. “There hasn’t been a systematic approach that aggregates all these data in Maine.”

More than 200 volunteers were trained last April through June as part of the program, and Stancioff hopes even more people will participate in the coming year. Volunteers are trained in the spring through in-person lessons and are given the tools they will need to observe and record data.

In April of last year, after reading a newspaper article about the program, Siatras volunteered for the inaugural training class.

“I’m not a botanist or a biologist,” said Siatras. However, through the program’s training and self study she is able to spot specific species and recognize phenological cycles. “When do we notice the markings on a beetle, except maybe when they’re trying to destroy something?” she said. “Not only has my awareness of the changes taking place increased, but my awareness of everything going on around me has increased extraordinarily.”

“The trainers and program staff were exceptional,” said Siatras. “All the resources you need are right there for you.”

Though data was collected throughout the last year, it will take time for scientists to make conclusions about the connection between phenology and climate. “It’s not immediate,” said Stancioff. “It will take several years.” In part, she explained, this is because we are living in a time of rapid and dynamic climate change, meaning that it is difficult to isolate specific causes that contribute to phenological variations.

Signs of the Seasons is a program of the University of Maine Cooperative Extension and the Maine Sea Grant, in partnership with the U.S. National Phenology Network, Acadia National Park, Schoodic Education and Research Center, Maine Maritime Academy, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Maine Audubon Society. Signs of the Seasons is funded by University of Maine Extension and U.S. Fish and Wildlife grants and in-kind contributions from program partners.

“We’re trying to make the link for people, so they understand how these plants and animals are affected by increased temperature or extreme rainfall,” said Stancioff. She stressed the human and public health implications of phenological variations. For example, “invasive species have higher resiliences” to changing climates, which might help explain the connection between fluctuating temperatures and an increase in cases of Lyme disease.

She also stressed the economic implications. Changing temperatures and precipitation levels will require farmers to adapt to how and when they plant crops. “It’s all connected,” said Stancioff. “The more data we have, the better our chances of understanding what’s happening.”

Indicator species

Red maple

Sugar maple

Common dandelion

Common lilac

Forsythia

Wild strawberry

Common milkweed

Monarch butterfly

American robin

Common loon

Ruby-throated hummingbird

Rockweed

Beach rose

To get involved:

— Go to http://umaine.edu/signs-of-the-seasons/get-involved/

— Contact Esperanza Stancioff, Climate Change Educator for the University of Maine Cooperative Extension/Maine Sea Grant Program, at [email protected] and at 1-207- 832-0343 or 1-800-244-2104 (in Maine)

Scientists are still struggling to predict the severity and consequences of global climate change, though few now argue about its existence or the fact that it has been made worse by human endeavors. In 2009, University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Maine Sea Grant, in partnership with Maine State Climatologist George Jacobson, created Maine Climate News, a quarterly, online journal designed to be a neutral source for Maine-related climate information. Maine Climate News provided the following facts.

— The summer of 2011 was the second warmest summer on record in the U.S.

— Though July saw us technically in a drought, August of last year was the third-wettest August in Maine’s recorded history. This caused widespread soil erosion, though it also buoyed apple production, causing abundant yields.

— Last summer, NASA commissioned the first complete map of Antarctic ice flow. While previous maps had focused on the fringes of the continent, this map detailed the direction and speed of ice flows across the entire landmass.

— It has been argued that volcanic activity seriously contributes to global carbon dioxide emissions. However, Terrance Gerlach, a scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey, estimates that in 2.7 days humans produce carbon dioxide equivalent to a year’s worth of volcanic emissions.

— The oceans are considered a carbon sink, that is, because plant life in the oceans is growing and absorbing carbon dioxide at a faster rate than it is dying and releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, these ecosystems account for a net loss in carbon dioxide globally. However, one serious potential problem, scientists suggest, is a decline in the efficiency of this process that could occur from melting polar ice, since warmed water is able to absorb less carbon dioxide than cooler water. Simultaneously, as there is less ice at the poles, more solar radiation is absorbed by the ocean (as opposed to being reflected back into space by the ice), thereby exacerbating the warming problem.

— Relatively little has been done to study the effects of climate change on coastal ecosystems, though researchers are already predicting problems for Maine’s coastal fauna. The puffin, in particular, seems to be threatened by increasing atmospheric temperatures and melting freshwater ice from the Arctic. This is because changes to the stratification of ocean water as well as ocean currents have affected herring populations, the puffin’s main food source, researchers speculate. Observers on Machias Seal Island suggest that inadequate food supply may explain the unusually late departure of puffins from that island last year.

For more Maine Climate News, go to umaine.edu/maineclimatenews.