THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, APRIL 24, 2008
NEWS
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ing to unpredictable seasons. He said that in Lawrence, plants were usually at full bloom on April 14. Last year, that day was April 2, a full 12 days early. This year, flowers reached full bloom yesterday, seven days later than the norm. Normally, the bloom days vary only by three or four days.
If plants flower early but bees don't emerge, the bees miss the prime time to collect pollen and nectar and some starve. If the season starts early but then an extreme freeze hits, the vegetation freezes and there is no pollen or nectar because blooms die. Tavlor said.
Richard Bean, owner of Blossom Trail Bee Ranch, raises about 60 colonies of bees for honey to sell at the Lawrence Farmers' Market.
He said last year, when the freeze killed many fruit buds, his bees weren't able to collect nectar for more than a month and had already gone through their winter stores of food.
"They really struggled," Bean said. "They had more mouths to feed."
He said the queen bee slowed down laying her eggs when there was less food, which was the opposite of what he needed for honey production.
Chip Taylor said many yellowjackets, bumblebees and paper wasps didn't survive the late freeze last year and that their numbers were still small.
"Nebraska won't be the Cornhuskers anymore. It will be the South Dakota Cornhuskers."
He said that when the insects die, they can't pollinate the plants and the plants then can't reproduce or bear fruit, also affecting other insects that rely on that food.
FISH
Keith Gido, associate professor of biology at Kansas State University, said drier streams and rivers were eliminating some species of fish, although scientists didn't know yet tow鱼 will react to higher water temperatures.
species like the plains minnow, the Arkansas River Shiner and the green sunfish were disappearing. He said droughts were the biggest problem for fish.
Gido said irrigation in western Kansas caused streams to dry up and the Arkansas River also had considerably less water. The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks listed the spotted sucker, which lives in the Arkansas River, as one species already in need of conservation. Gido said
"There's not much fish can do when it gets completely dry," Gido said.
He said stream fish couldn't move into lakes because they weren't adapted to the still water of a lake.
Gido said that stream fish spawn and their eggs wash downstream to develop. Long stretches of moving water are necessary for the eggs because the constant current makes it harder for predators to eat them.
He said when stream species' populations wane, it upset the
SAM FUNK Holcomb, senior
stream's whole ecosystem. The plains minnow is an herbivore and eats algae. He said the amount of algae played a strong role in the stream's ability to retain nutrients, so the fish's disappearance could upset the health of the stream and its surroundings.
Gido said fish had different ideal temperatures and scientists don't really know how fish will react to warmer weather. He said most streams in Kansas flowed west to east, which made it more difficult for fish to escape warming weather by heading north like other animals do.
REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS
Linda Trueb, curator in charge of herpetology at the Natural History Museum, said reptiles were tough and independent from their environment. They are more likely to adapt to warmer temperatures, but drought would affect amphibians.
She said the biggest problem reptiles faced was that they were cold-blooded and couldn't regulate their own body temperatures. However, warmer temperatures make reptiles more active, so they would be more aware of what is going on around them.
Trueb said most amphibians in Kansas were tolerant of high heat, especially native toads, but many other amphibians that need moisture would go underground and wait for more water to come. She said the amphibians that would be most affected would be those already in small numbers across the state, like the crawfish frog, which lives in the Haskell-Baker Wetlands in south Lawrence. The Eastern Narrowmouth Toad lives in the southeastern corner of the
state on the Ozark Plateau, most of which is in Missouri.
Bill Busby, a scientist at the Kansas Biological Survey, said migratory birds were arriving in the state earlier than normal and some of their ranges were expanding.
When Philip Wedge, an assistant professor of English, heard the northern Saw-whet Owl in his yard a block away from campus, the bird was thousands of miles away from where it normally whistled its mating call. Last winter Wedge helped with the annual Audubon Society's Christmas Bird Count in Lawrence, and he helped count 15 yellow-rumped warblers. These birds previously didn't
winter in Lawrence because it was too cold, but milder winters had allowed the warblers to stay in the state.
BIRDS
Busby said the big problems for birds were synchronizing their food supply and the changing weather. If the birds miss when plants flower or insects come out, they miss their food source. Many birds use weather and natural events to time their lives. The whip-poorwill broods when the moon was full, and Busby said many birds had a reproductive cycle tied to changes in weather.
If certain trees disappear because of weather, like the bur oak, Busy said birds that rely on them for food and shelter would become scarce. The red-headed woodpecker feeds on the oak tree's acorns during winter, so when the tree produces less, there is less food for the birds.
He said roadrunners once associated with deserts used to be scarce in Kansas because of harsh winters, but people were now spotting them as far north as Wichita because the winters were milder.
The Canada goose is also appearing in greater numbers in the state and staying for milder winters and cornfields.
MAMMALS
Robert Timm, curator in charge of mammalogy at the Natural History Museum, said mammals might not be affected as much by climate change as they would be from humans destroying their habitats. If mammals are affected, it may happen to them last because they are at the top of the food chain and eat birds, insects and plants.
Since humans are at the apex of the food chain, the effects of climate change may affect people later but greater. Whether it is the crops we grow, the birds we feed and watch, the trees that shade us in the summer and entertain us in the fall, the fish we catch or the bees that pollinate our crops and share their honey with us, can Kansans look to Oklahoma for a preview of the future of the hotter, drier environment of Kansas?
Edited by Jeff Briscoe
Seminar for Landlords, Owners and Property Managers
Friday April 25, 2008 11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Holiday Inn/Holidome 200 McDonald Drive
Information Fair for Tenants and Prospective Tenants
Saturday April26,2008 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m
FREE LUNCHEON!
Topics include:
• Landlord/Tenant Issues
• Landlord/Tenant Mediation
• Legislative Updates
Lawrence Arts Center 940 New Hampshire
Call 832-3310 to register. This seminar is FREE of charge and open to the public.
Renters & Homebuyers can meet and talk to housing experts. Visit the booths and gather valuable information.
LEGAL www.lawrenceks.org
DOOR PRIZES & GIVEAWAYS!
FREE REFRESHMENTS!
City of Lawrence
Call 832-3310 for more information This event is FREE of charge and open to the public.
Legal Department Human Relations Division 785-832-3310
Floyd Ott, a fruit farmer south of Eudora, points out dead leaves on a tree in his orchard leftover from a late freeze last year. Ott valued his loss of apples, apricots, nectarines, plums, cherries, pears and peaches at $9,000.
Taylor Miller/KANSAN
The KU Alumni Association presents
TRADITION KEEPER Appreciation Week
We'd like to thank our current Tradition Keeper members and encourage them to renew for 2008-09 on Optional Campus Fees! Also, it's not too late to join for this year if you'd like to be a member - just stop by our events this week and find out how to be a proud member of this Jayhawk flock!
Rock Chalk!
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23
Monday
8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Hospitality
Room in Adams
Alumni Center
We'll have an extra special spread for our TK study hours in the Paul Adam Lounge.
Stop by and check it out!
8 a.m.-5 p.m.
T-shirt Day
Get spotted in your current
TK Shirt on campus today and the prize posse may reward you!
Wednesday
11:30 a.m.-
1:30 p.m.
Lunch and Learn
Stop by our
table on
Wescoe for a
free slice of
pizza and learn
about the
Alumni Association.
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Thursday
10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Thirsty
Thursday
Enjoy a free
drink on
Wescoe.
Friday
8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Friday Freebies
Stop by the
Adams Alumni
Center and
grab some
great freebies!
www.kualumni.org
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