Certain air pollutants that build up at night can break down the same fragrance molecules that attract pollinators like hawk moths to primroses.
Air pollution may blunt the signature scents of some night-blooming flowers, jeopardizing pollination., lab and field tests show. As a result, moths and other nocturnal pollinators may find it difficult to detect the fragrance and navigate to the flower, researchers report in the Feb. 9The finding highlights how air pollution can affect more than human health.
Using this glass globe, researchers absorbed the fragrance of a pale evening primrose flower. In lab, they analyzed the composition of the fragrance and identified molecules that are degraded by air pollution.But it was a different story when the researchers added pollutants like ozone and nitrogen dioxide to the mix. Then, the hawk moths flew in zigzag patterns, often searching fruitlessly for scent cues.
“It was surprising a seemingly subtle change in concentration of only two compounds — out of more than 20 — was sufficient to eliminate the flower’s attractiveness,” Riffell says. To test the findings in nature, ecologist Jeremy Chan, now at the University of Naples Federico II in Italy, planted a field of real and faux primroses aboutfragrance, while others released the fragrance as well as chemicals that react in the air to make nitrate radicals. Cameras recorded the number of times moths visited the experimental buds.
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