A new study discovered how air pollution prevents pollinators, like bees, from finding flowers because poor air quality degrades the scent.
The research team, composed of the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) and the Universities of Birmingham, Reading, Surrey, and Southern Queensland, found that the ozone substantially changes the size and scent of floral odor plumes flowers produce. It then reduces honeybees’ ability to recognize odors by up to 90 percent from just a few meters away.
Data from the study suggests that the ozone harms wildflower abundance and crop yields. Meanwhile, international research established that the ozone impairs food production because it damages plant growth.
Pollinators like honeybees use floral scents to find flowers and eventually associate their unique aroma with the amount of nectar they provide, allowing them to locate the same species in the future.
Researchers used a 30-m wind tunnel at Surrey University to monitor how the size and shape of odor plumes changed with ozone. The scientists also discovered that the scent of the plume changed significantly when certain compounds reacted faster than others.
Meanwhile, they trained honeybees to recognize the same odor blend before exposing them to the new ozone-modified scents.
The research showed that 52 percent of honeybees recognized a scent at six meters toward the center of the plumes, decreasing to 38 percent at 12 meters. At the edge of plumes, which degraded more quickly, 32 percent of honeybees recognized a flower from six meters away, and just a tenth of the insects from 12 meters away.
The study indicates that ozone could also affect insects’ other odor-controlled behaviors, such as attracting a mate.