2023-09-05 10:47:24
File – Bee sucking the melon flower. honey bee. Honey. pollinator. – GUDLYF/ UCM – File
MADRID, 5 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Air pollution drastically reduces pollination because it degrades the aroma of flowers, which affects the ability of bees to find themaccording to a study.
A research team comprising the UK Center for Ecology and Hydrology (UKCEH) and the Universities of Reading, Surrey, Birmingham and South Queensland found that ozone substantially changes the size and aroma of floral odor plumes. . Reduced the ability of bees to recognize scents by up to 90% from just a few meters away.
Ground-level ozone, which aggravates respiratory conditions, is typically formed when nitrogen oxide emissions from vehicles and industrial processes react with volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by vegetation in the presence of sunlight.
UKCEH atmospheric scientist Dr Ben Langford led the study, which was published in the journal Environmental Pollution. He says the new research suggests ozone is likely having a negative impact on wildflower abundance and crop yields. Several international studies have already established that ozone it has a negative impact on food production because it damages plant growth.
“About 75% of our food crops and almost 90% of our wildflower plants depend, to some degree, on animal pollination, particularly by insects. Therefore, understanding what negatively affects pollination, and how, is essential to help us preserve the critical services we respond to, for example, for the production of food, textiles, biofuels and medicines,” says Dr. Langford it’s a statement.
Dr James Ryalls, co-author of the research paper from the University of Reading, said: “The study provides clear mechanistic evidence of how ozone pollution, whose concentrations are typically highest in rural areas, can reduce visitor visits pollinators to flowers.
The researchers used a wind tunnel to monitor how the size and shape of the odor plumes changed in the presence of ozone. In addition to decreasing the size of the odor column, the scientists found that the odor in the column changed as certain compounds reacted faster than others.
The bees, which were trained to recognize the same mix of odors, were then exposed to the new ozone-modified odors. Pollinating insects use floral scents to find flowers and learn to associate their unique mix of chemical compounds with the amount of nectar they provide, allowing them to locate the same species in the future.
The research showed that towards the center of the columns, 52% of the bees recognized a scent at six meters, decreasing to 38% at 12m. At the edge of the plumes, which deteriorated more quickly, 32% of the bees recognized a flower from 6 meters away and only a tenth of the insects from 12 meters away.
The researchers say their findings indicate that ozone could also affect other odor-controlled behaviors in insects, such as their ability to attract and find a mate. Last year, the same research team published the first study to find that common air pollutants, including ozone and diesel exhaust, they had a negative impact on pollination in the natural environment.
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