<
https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2024-08-07/significant-reduction-in-pollination-due-to-air-pollution/104136136>
'Bees and other bugs crucial to a diverse ecosystem experience a significant
decline in performance after exposure to polluted air, according to a new
study.
The findings indicate increased ozone and other air pollutants are yet another
stressor on pollinators, which play a crucial role in ensuring global food
supply.
Ozone, naturally occurring in the upper atmosphere, develops harmfully at
ground level due to chemical reactions from man-made activities such as burning
fossil fuels.
The data from a study in
Nature Communication, which was collected on 40
different insect species across 19 countries, pointed towards pollinators and
beneficial predator species experiencing an almost 40 per cent drop in
productivity, while pest insects were not significantly impacted.
Robbie Girling from the University of Southern Queensland co-authored the study
and said it was a double blow for food security.
"Pests are essentially performing just as they would do normally in an
unpolluted environment, so what you'll see is those pests will continue to be
as damaging as they are now," he said.
"But as pollution levels increase, we see a reduction in those natural enemies
of the pests, which is going to be a big concern for growers."
Professor Girling said the difference in impact came down to the beneficial
insects' reliance on their sense of smell.
"What happens is the flowers' odours are being degraded [by pollutants] and
insects use these smells to locate them," he said.
"And if those flowers are releasing chemicals … they're liable to be reacted
with by ozone, which will either completely remove them or change them
chemically so the insect can't respond anymore."'
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
