December 2022
Autumn and early winter has been exceptionally mild this year, with many meteorological records broken, e.g., the warmest Remembrance Day on record. We are still seeing insects such as butterflies, bees, ladybirds and flies well into November. Also, many trees and other plants are flowering when they should be dormant. We have a fine display of roses in our Uckfield garden. I have also seen fruit trees with just a few blossom flowers out as if their metabolic pathways are responding as if it is spring. Grass is certainly still growing. It is tempting to say, “isn’t this climate change lovely!” However, we had a flood in Uckfield last week and several homes and other properties were flooded and damaged. Nature is showing signs of disruption, notably delays in migratory birds flying south and green leaves persisting for longer.
The wonderful thing is that nature will adapt, and even lend a hand to us humans as we attempt to reverse the changes we see. Green leaves for longer means that more carbon dioxide will be absorbed and lovely oxygen released by the plants. More insects will survive in temperate climates and be food for the birds and other animals that eat them. Excessive rain will ensure that rivers are flowing again and reservoirs will be filling. However, these changes will be painful for many people and other organisms in the front line of these changes. These front lines are mainly in both the tropics and in the polar regions, north and south.
Drought will lead to the evolution of resilient adaptations such as the ability to aestivate. This word is derived from the Latin word aestas (summer). It is similar to hibernation (hibernus – winter). Both are animal strategies to survive extreme climatic conditions. Perhaps the most commonly seen aestivating animals are snails during hot summers. Other invertebrates that do it include beetles, crabs and mosquitos. However, there are vertebrates also that aestivate, including frogs, toads, tortoises and salamanders, even a type of lemur and hedgehog do it. The converse is that fewer animals will have to hibernate. In England, we are seeing dormice remaining active for longer and even breeding well into November. We also expect to see frogs, toads and other hibernating animals emerging and breeding earlier in the spring.