Announcing the 2023 Limnology and Oceanography Letters Special Issue

Manuscripts due May 31, 2023

Phenology, the study of seasonal timing of natural phenomena, is a central construct in ecology, focusing on interaction between temporal changes in the physical environment and the structuring of annual organismal, population, community, and ecosystem dynamics. In a warming and more variable climate, phenology is a lens through which to study the influence of climate on habitat, ecology, and evolution, at levels ranging from cellular processes to ecosystem functioning.

Many of the best-known phenological studies are drawn from the terrestrial biosphere, such as the timing of leaf-out, flowering, and fruiting of plants; the arrival time of migrating animals, or changes in the synchrony of populations with tight trophic linkages. The literature on phenological processes in aquatic systems is more limited and distinct in its traditional emphasis on physical events such as lake mixing and stratification or ice formation and loss. Given the tight coupling of climate and phenology, there is an increasingly urgent need to advance our understanding of phenological change in aquatic systems. What is likely to shift, what abrupt changes might we expect, and what is at risk of collapsing? For example: How will the disappearance of lake and ocean ice influence trophic interactions? How will earlier leaf-out affect light and organic matter availability in streams? How will more stratified water column conditions affect primary production or the likelihood of harmful algal blooms? What are the implications of phenological change in the genetic structure of populations and the resilience of aquatic ecosystems to adapt to new climate regimes? How do we manage aquatic systems in a future of changing phenology?

This special issue welcomes contributions that focus on phenological change in both inland and marine aquatic ecosystems. There is a clear need for applied and theoretical ecological research targeted at understanding phenological changes across multiple levels of biological organizations and types of aquatic habitats. Therefore, we invite contributions that investigate the effects of phenological change on aquatic ecosystems using monitoring, big data, modeling, and empirical approaches. Contributions should fit the scope of Limnology and Oceanography Letters and will be assessed with the same level of rigor by guest editors and invited external referees as regular journal submissions.

Research Articles are short (max 3000 word), letters-formatted articles. Limnology and Oceanography Letters also publishes Data Articles, Essays, and longer Current Evidence articles. Manuscripts related to presentations in the session on Phenological Change in Aquatic Ecosystems at the 2022 JASM meeting in Grand Rapids, Michigan, are especially welcome.

Please email Hilary Dugan (hdugan@wisc.edu) using the subject line “LOL Phenology Proposal” to submit a short manuscript proposal so that the suitability of your work for this special issue can be determined. This should include the title, authors, and a 200-word abstract of the planned paper. Paper proposals must be submitted by 9 January 2023 and the deadline for manuscript submission is 31 May 2023. Manuscripts may be submitted any time after 9 January 2023. Accepted papers will be published online in Early View with a permanent doi upon acceptance. All articles are open access, and the publication cost is $2400 for ASLO members. Please note the data-publication requirement, detailed here: https://aslopubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/lol2.10252.

Special Issue Guest Editors:

Emily Stanley - University of Wisconsin-Madison (ehstanley@wisc.edu)

Monika Winder - Stockholm University (monika.winder@su.se)

Hilary Dugan - University of Wisconsin-Madison (hdugan@wisc.edu)

Zach Feiner - Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, University of Wisconsin-Madison (zsfeiner@wisc.edu)