Cranberries

As global temperatures rise, phenological changes have occurred causing flowering times of plant species to occur earlier than previously recorded in the past (Bartomeus, Ascher, Wagner, Danforth, Colla, Kornbluth, Winfree, 2011). The New England Cranberry, Vaccinium macrocarpon, is not an exception to this phenomena. Cranberries act similar to wild plants in the case of the phenology differing in warmer temperatures. Since cranberries have been an important part of New England culture, cultivators have kept records of cranberry growth and production. Cranberry cultivators have been spraying fungicide on the crop when 10% of the flowers are bloomed. This quantifies timing of cranberry flowering over the years. The earlier flowering times of cranberries affects not only cultivators, but other species that interact closely with the plant. Cranberry shoots and leaves are an important food resource for the bog copper butterfly, Lycaena epixanthe. As global tempertatures rise, the concern for earlier flowering times affecting both human cultivation and other species interations continues to grow.