The Impact of Air Pollution on Flower Scents and Pollinators
TL;DR Summary
Airborne chemicals from fossil fuels are altering the scent of flowers, making it difficult for pollinators like moths to locate them, especially at night. The chemicals, specifically nitrate radicals, are masking the natural scents of flowers, impacting the crucial plant-pollinator interactions. This interference could have significant consequences for the ecosystem, as many flowering plants rely on insect intervention for pollination, and a large number of pollinator species are already endangered or threatened.
- Air pollution is changing the way flowers smell, leaving pollinators lost and the ecosystem in peril New York Post
- How air pollution prevents pollinators from finding their flowers The Washington Post
- Polluted Flowers Smell Less Sweet to Pollinators, Study Finds The New York Times
- Air pollution is changing the scent of flowers and confusing insects New Scientist
- A new kind of magnetism, and how smelly pollution harms pollinators Science
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