CAMPBELL RIVER, B.C. – Things are a bit out of sync.
This is according to Cynthia Bendickson, the executive director for Greenways Land Trust. She said that there is a mismatch in what plants and animals naturally follow, and what is going on with the environment.
As such, she said that this could have a lasting effect on the local ecosystem in Campbell River, and that there are a few things they are concerned about.
“First of all, there are the plants. We actually planted about 1, 600 native plants last fall out in various areas of Campbell River that are part of a restoration project, so we’re really concerned about those plants surviving,” Bendickson said.
She added that the forecasted rain for the week is welcome.
But she said that the constant changes in the weather so far has put native plant and animal species under stress. The drought is causing a lot of foliage to die off, and Bendickson said that the dry conditions are also making plants more susceptible to diseases.
“This also means they’ll be more susceptible to insects and pest infestations. In the next couple of weeks, we also have our juvenile salmon migration… they’re going to come out of the creeks, and they need water in the creek in order to actually get out into the ocean.”
Bendickson said she has observed numerous bumble bees crowding around one flower to get the nectar out of it, as none of the other native plants were in bloom.
“Things really are a little out of whack. Some species really respond to temperature and at our average temperature will mean they’ll start developing and start waking up. Whereas other species depend on day length in order to cue their times to wake up in spring.”
“By mismatching the temperature with the day length as we’ve had it lately, it’s really throwing things out of the loop and things are a bit out of sync.”
