'Ecological Mismatch': Hot Winter Wreaking Havoc On PA Environment

PENNSYLVANIA — While the impacts of climate change are cumulative and sometimes incremental to the point of obscurity, there's no escaping the realities of the warmest winter in the recorded history of eastern Pennsylvania.

Chief among those consequences: a phenomonom termed "ecological mismatch" by researchers that happens when plants and animals are no longer synchronous on their seasonal cycles.

Specifically, what is essentially the early arrival of spring changes when certain plants bloom. Some blooms will appear early in Pennsylvania this year, and could potentially have already died off by the time the pollinators think it's time for them to arrive.

"Plants are really sensitive to temperature, humidity and rainfall," Megan O'Connell, a research associate with the Botanical Research Institute of Texas, told AccuWeather. "They're sensitive to photo periods; so the sun and things like that. They're responding to these kinds of triggers in the environment, these cues that the climate is giving them, and they respond to that."

Early blooms and growths also have an obvious impact on animals and insects that rely on those plants for food. In some cases, animals might forage elsewhere, changing browsing patterns throwing off an ecosystem that always exists in a delicate balance.

Scientists even believe that winter warming is more ecologically impactful that hotter summers, according to research published in Nature. Impacts are numerous for both ecosystems and agriculture. "The earlier start of the growing season due to warming...can also lead to pre-mature de-hardening, with an increased risk of subsequent frost damage," researchers wrote.

Changing seasons also change migration patterns. Birds that normally would not be moving around this time of year suddenly think it's time to fly north. The changing climate also impacts the availability of breeding sites — sites which in many cases are already limited by overdevelopment and other human impacts — which can cause overcrowding and higher than usual interaction between domestic birds and migratory birds.

This can fuel the spread of the disease, according to recent research published in the Journal of Climate Change and Health, including the highly contagious avian influenza that has already killed 4.4 million birds in Pennsylvania.

Pollinators are even more sensitive. Because they are so closely tied to the cycles that both keep ecosystems in balance and create food, chaos should be expected, O'Connell added.

"Think about the thousands of species of plants and pollinators out there," she told AccuWeather. "It could have some really catastrophic effects on ecosystems."

Temperatures are predicted to be up to 70 percent above normal over the next three months, according to AccuWeather. Experts say that individuals can help by planting native plants at certain times of the year that are frequented by pollinators. The National Wildlife Foundation maintains a list of native plants and pollinators online here.