(Press-News.org) A new study has found that air pollution is preventing pollinators finding flowers because it degrades the scent.
A research team comprising the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) and the Universities of Birmingham, Reading, Surrey and Southern Queensland, found that ozone substantially changes the size and scent of floral odour plumes given off by flowers, and that it reduced honeybees' ability to recognise odours by up to 90% from just a few metres away.
Ground-level ozone typically forms when nitrogen oxide emissions from vehicles and industrial processes react with volatile organic compounds emitted from vegetation in the presence of sunlight.
Professor Christian Pfrang from the University of Birmingham who collaborated on the research said: “Our study provides robust evidence that the changes due to ground-level ozone on floral scent cause pollinators to struggle to carry out their crucial role in the natural environment also with implications for food security.”
The findings suggest that ozone is likely to be having a negative impact on wildflower abundance and crop yields. International research has already established that ozone has a negative impact on food production because it damages plant growth.
Dr Ben Langford, an atmospheric scientist at UKCEH who led the study said: ”Some 75% of our food crops and nearly 90% of wild flowering plants depend, to some extent, upon animal pollination, particularly by insects. Therefore, understanding what adversely affects pollination, and how, is essential to helping us preserve the critical services that we reply upon for production of food, textiles, biofuels and medicines, for example.”
The researchers used a 30-m wind tunnel at Surrey University to monitor how the size and shape of odour plumes changed in the presence of ozone. As well as decreasing the size of the odour plume the scientists found that the scent of the plume changed substantially as certain compounds reacted away much faster than others.
Honeybees were trained to recognise the same odour blend and then exposed to the new, ozone-modified odours. Pollinating insects use floral odours to find flowers and learn to associate their unique blend of chemical compounds with the amount of nectar it provides, allowing them to locate the same species in the future.
The research showed that towards the centre of plumes, 52% of honeybees recognised an odour at 6 metres, decreasing to 38% at 12 m. At the edge of plumes, which degraded more quickly, 32% of honeybees recognised a flower from 6 m away and just a tenth of the insects from 12 m away.
The study indicates that ozone could also affect insects’ other odour-controlled behaviours such attracting a mate.
The research was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council, part of UK Research and Innovation, and was published in the journal Environmental Pollution.
Professor Christian Pfrang concluded: “We know that air pollution has a detrimental effect on human health, biodiversity and the climate, but now we can see how it prevents bees and other pollinating insects from carrying out their key job. This should act as a wake up call to take action on air pollution and help safeguard food production and biodiversity for the future.“
END
Bees struggle to find flowers because of air pollution
2023-09-08
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Study shows food from tobacco-owned brands more 'hyperpalatable' than competitor's food
2023-09-08
LAWRENCE — Many of us know all too well the addictive nature of many foods marketed in the United States — most call it “junk food.” In fact, this kind of salty, sweet and high-fat fare makes up the lion’s share of what’s marketed to Americans.
Researchers employ a more scholarly term for food items featuring purposely tempting combinations of salts, fats and sugars: They’re “hyperpalatable.”
Now, an investigator at the University of Kansas has conducted research showing food brands owned by tobacco ...
What do neurons, fireflies and dancing the Nutbush have in common?
2023-09-08
Computer scientists and mathematicians working in complex systems at the University of Sydney and the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences in Germany have developed new methods to describe what many of us take for granted – how easy, or hard, it can be to fall in and out of sync.
Synchronised phenomena are all around us, whether it is human clapping and dancing, or the way fireflies flash, or how our neurons and heart cells interact. However, it is something not fully understood in engineering and science.
Associate Professor Joseph Lizier, expert in complex systems at the University of Sydney, said: “We know ...
Drug approvals in clinical trials were correlated with the cells/humans discrepancy in gene perturbation effects
2023-09-08
Developing new drugs is paramount in discovering innovative treatments and preventing diseases. This is vital not only for advancing medicine but also for the overall health and well-being of humanity. Yet, even when drugs demonstrate safety and efficacy in cell and animal models, they frequently encounter hurdles in clinical trials on human.
A single setback for a drug during clinical trials, which involves diverse population groups, can result in significant economic losses. To address this, it is imperative to understand why certain drugs, despite passing the preclinical stages, falter during clinical ...
Unveiling the causes of the 1931 Yangtze River Deluge
2023-09-08
In the summer of 1931, an unprecedented calamity unfolded along the Yangtze River basin in eastern China - the 1931 Yangtze River flood, known as one of history's deadliest natural disasters. This cataclysmic event submerged a staggering 180,000 km2, affected 25 million lives, and tragically claimed over 2 million lives.
Despite its immense societal impact, the origins of this monumental flood have remained largely unexplored, a challenge compounded by the scarcity of historical records and pre-1950s meteorological data in China. Recent access to crucial historical datasets has, however, unlocked the ability to investigate the 1931 Yangtze River flood.
A recent study published ...
Physical activity boosting resources support classroom performance
2023-09-08
DALLAS, September 8, 2023 — This back to school season the American Heart Association and the National Football League (NFL), in collaboration with its 32 NFL clubs, are offering students exciting ways to move more with NFL PLAY 60™. Physical activity is important as students return to the classroom. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, active kids learn better, focus more, think more clearly, react to stress more calmly, and perform and behave better in the classroom[1].
The ...
New study highlights feasibility and optimization of ammonia-based power generation for carbon neutrality
2023-09-08
Ammonia is emerging as a promising energy source to achieve carbon neutrality due to its inherent carbon-free nature. A recent study, led by Professor Hankwon Lim in the School of Energy and Chemical Engineering and the Graduate School of Carbon Neutrality at UNIST, has evaluated the feasibility of ammonia-based power generation through techno-economic and carbon footprint analyses. The research focuses on an integrated system combining ammonia decomposition and phosphoric acid fuel cells.
The study, conducted using a commercial process simulator, unveils significant findings regarding the efficiency and economic viability of utilizing ammonia ...
UTSA researchers explain plant’s medicinal power against COVID and glioblastoma
2023-09-08
Vibrant green leaves sprout from tall fragrant plants sitting neatly in two rows of terracotta pots in Valerie Sponsel’s UTSA biology laboratory. One floor just above her is the chemistry lab of Francis Yoshimoto, who is extracting the plant’s leaves for medicinal compounds. Soon, the researchers will meet with UTSA researcher Annie Lin, who will test the extracted compounds on cancer cells.
The plant is Artemisia annua, or Sweet Annie, and it contains medicinal compounds. UTSA researchers are studying the plant to understand the bioactive properties of one of these compounds, Arteannuin B, in cancer cells and COVID, the ...
Benchtop NMR spectroscopy can accurately analyse pyrolysis oils
2023-09-08
Benchtop NMR spectroscopy can accurately analyse pyrolysis oils
Pyrolysis bio-oils have the potential to be widely used as alternative fuels but are very complex to analyse
Cheaper, simpler, low-field, or ‘benchtop’, NMR spectrometers were able to accurately quantify key oxygen-containing components of pyrolysis bio-oils for the first time
More accessible analysis could help develop the potential of bio-oils as an alternative to fossil fuels
EMBARGOED UNTIL FRIDAY 8TH SEPTEMBER at 9am UK time 2023 | Birmingham, UK
A team of researchers at Aston University ...
The climate crisis could reshape Italian mountain forests forever
2023-09-08
As a result of the climate crisis, future forests may become unrecognizable. Trees that currently make up European woods may no longer be seen — or they may have moved several hundred meters uphill. Scientists writing in Frontiers in Forests and Global Change have mapped the forests of five vulnerable mountain areas in Italy and modelled the future of these fragile ecosystems.
“If I imagine my daughter walking with me as an old man, in our mountain forests, I can imagine that we can see the initial stage of a profound ...
Disney princesses can be good for a child’s self-image, UC Davis researchers suggest
2023-09-08
Children have loved Disney princesses since Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs premiered in theaters in 1937. While this adoration continues to grow in terms of princess movie ratings, some parents may wonder what effects these idealized images of young women might have on how their children feel about and express themselves.
According to new research from the University of California, Davis, a favorite princess improved — but did not harm — young children’s ...