“There could also be broader ramifications,” he continued. “For example, a pheromone is an airborne odor produced by an insect to attract a mate of the same species, and if communication with the pheromone were disrupted in the same way, it could lead to the insect having to struggles to find mates, which can affect insect biodiversity. . ” In fact, a doctoral project at the University of Reading are now exploring how air pollution affects insect pheromones.
“The impact of diesel and ozone emissions on insect pollinators and epidemics,” said Jaret Daniels, associate professor of insect conservation and curator at the Florida Museum of Natural History, who was not involved in the study. pollination is generally not well understood. However, he adds, it’s reasonable to surmise that pollution of all kinds – whether from light, noise or chemicals – affects pollinators in a number of ways.
Disrupting pollination, a “key service” to ecology and agriculture, with fossil fuel-related emissions has the potential to impact climate resilience, according to Daniels. and future food security. Studies like these are “particularly important for a growing global population and especially important for developing urban environments where pollution can be especially elevated,” he said.
Mark Carroll, a research entomologist at the USDA’s Carl Hayden Bee Research Center, agrees that the study adds to the body’s literature on air pollution and pollinators, but he says the The bigger picture needs to be better understood. For example, he wonders if insects are really hindered because they can’t smell flowers correctly. Instead, he suggests, it’s possible they are simply repelled by the pollution because it smells bad to them.
Ryalls said their experiment controlled for this possibility by placing bright yellow pan traps in each round. (Pollinators are especially attracted to yellow.) Pan traps, used to reduce insect populations, often contain a sticky substance or drowning liquid, such as water or oil. In this case, the researchers used them to measure the number of insects that flew into each ring with no sign of flowers. They found approximately the same number of pollinators captured in the traps in each trap, leading to the conclusion that the pollutants did not appear to affect overall pollinator activity in each area or their physiology when flying into the ring. In other words, their rings and pollutants don’t seem to scare off the insects entirely — it just reduces the chances of them actually landing on the flowers.
Sonning Farm’s experimental design essentially simulates a field next to a busy road, and Daniels and Carroll both say it would be good for future research to try to replicate these findings in different types of locations. “How this happens when pollutants are continuously present over a large area, such as in a smog-filled valley, should be of considerable concern,” says Carroll.
Ryalls said his team plans to carry out broader trials, as well as “laboratory studies to determine the specific mechanism why certain species or groups of insects are affected.” affected more than other species”. But so far, he said, his work has been another data point that shows the dangers of industrial emissions. “The negative effects of air pollutants on pollinators, even at relatively low levels, simply add to the myriad of reasons why we should transition away from pollinators,” he said. fossil fuel consumption as quickly as possible.
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