Mapping the effects of ozone pollution and mixing on floral odour plumes and their impact on plant-pollinator interactions

Langford, Ben ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6968-5197; Ryalls, James M.W.; Mullinger, Neil J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3148-6950; Hayden, Paul; Nemitz, Eiko ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1765-6298; Pfrang, Christian; Robins, Alan; Touhami, Dalila; Bromfield, Lisa M.; Girling, Robbie D.. 2023 Mapping the effects of ozone pollution and mixing on floral odour plumes and their impact on plant-pollinator interactions. Environmental Pollution, 336, 122336. 9, pp. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2023.122336

Before downloading, please read NORA policies.

Preview

Text
N536021JA.pdf - Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution 4.0.
Download (5MB) | Preview

Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2023.122336

Abstract/Summary

The critical ecological process of animal-mediated pollination is commonly facilitated by odour cues. These odours consist of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), often with short chemical lifetimes, which form the strong concentration gradients necessary for pollinating insects to locate a flower. Atmospheric oxidants, including ozone pollution, may react with and chemically alter these VOCs, impairing the ability of pollinators to locate a flower, and therefore the pollen and nectar on which they feed. However, there is limited mechanistic empirical evidence to explain these processes within an odour plume at temporal and spatial scales relevant to insect navigation and olfaction. We investigated the impact of ozone pollution and turbulent mixing on the fate of four model floral VOCs within odour plumes using a series of controlled experiments in a large wind tunnel. Average rates of chemical degradation of α-terpinene, β-caryophyllene and 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one were slightly faster than predicted by literature rate constants, but mostly within uncertainty bounds. Mixing reduced reaction rates by 8–10% in the first 2 m following release. Reaction rates also varied across the plumes, being fastest at plume edges where VOCs and ozone mixed most efficiently and slowest at plume centres. Honeybees were trained to learn a four VOC blend equivalent to the plume released at the wind tunnel source. When subsequently presented with an odour blend representative of that observed 6 m from the source at the centre of the plume, 52% of honeybees recognised the odour, decreasing to 38% at 12 m. When presented with the more degraded blend from the plume edge, recognition decreased to 32% and 10% at 6 and 12 m respectively. Our findings highlight a mechanism by which anthropogenic pollutants can disrupt the VOC cues used in plant-pollinator interactions, which likely impacts on other critical odour-mediated behaviours such as mate attraction.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2023.122336
UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:	Atmospheric Chemistry and Effects (Science Area 2017-)
ISSN:	0269-7491
Additional Information. Not used in RCUK Gateway to Research.:	Open Access paper - full text available via Official URL link.
Additional Keywords:	air pollution, ozone, floral odour cues, insect pollinators, turbulent mixing
NORA Subject Terms:	Ecology and Environment Atmospheric Sciences
Date made live:	09 Nov 2023 11:39 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/536021

Item Type:

Publication - Article

Digital Object Identifier (DOI):

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2023.122336

UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:

Atmospheric Chemistry and Effects (Science Area 2017-)

ISSN:

0269-7491

Additional Information. Not used in RCUK Gateway to Research.:

Open Access paper - full text available via Official URL link.

Additional Keywords:

air pollution, ozone, floral odour cues, insect pollinators, turbulent mixing