Car and truck exhaust fumes and other vegetation scents are making it hard for pollinators, like moths, from finding new flowers, according to a study conducted by researchers at University of Washington and the University of Arizona.
In a new study on how pollinators find flowers when background orders are strong, the researchers discovered that both natural plant odors and human sources of pollution can conceal the scent of desirable flowers.
The strong odors prevent Manduca sexta moths from pollinating flowers such as Sacred Datura or Datura wrightii, according to a University of Washington press release.
Nectar from a flower energizes a moth for only about 15 minutes, and losing a track of next feeding spot could be deadly.
"Local vegetation can mask the scent of flowers because the background scents activate the same moth olfactory channels as floral scents," said Jeffrey Riffell, UW assistant professor of biology, according to the release. "Plus the chemicals in these scents are similar to those emitted from exhaust engines and we found that pollutant concentrations equivalent to urban environments can decrease the ability of pollinators to find flowers."
Riffell's research was published this week in the June 27th edition of Science.
Researchers used proton-transfer reaction mass spectrometer to track scents emitted by flowers in the wild, according to the study.
They discovered that scents produced by other flowers and car exhausts hid the scent of flowers like Datura wrightii, which are popular among moths.
Experiments conducted by the researchers showed that background scents confused moths into choosing the wrong flowers.
"We'd assumed that the moth's ability to smell the flowers would be more specific. Instead, other volatiles also activated those same olfactory pathways," Riffell said, according to the release.
Now researchers want to explore whether urban pollutants confuse other pollinators like honeybees.
The study proves that odors from cars and trucks could distract insects that play an important role in pollination, according to Alex Smith, a biologist at the University of Guelph in Ontario told The Verge.
The study was funded by University of Washington is published in the journal Science.
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