Pesticides and pollinators: guilty as charged

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nekomatic
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Pesticides and pollinators: guilty as charged

Post by nekomatic » Wed Dec 21, 2022 9:20 am

We provide empirical and model-based evidence that synthetic fertilizers recurrently alter the magnitude and dynamics of floral electrical cues, and that similar responses can be observed with the neonicotinoid pesticide imidacloprid. We show that biophysical responses interact in modifying floral electric fields and that such changes reduce bumblebee foraging, reflecting a perturbation in the sensory events experienced by bees during flower visitation. This unveils a previously unappreciated anthropogenic interference elicited by agrochemicals within the electric landscape that is likely relevant for a wide range of chemicals and organisms that rely on naturally occurring electric fields.
https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/arti ... 30/6814445
Move-a… side, and let the mango through… let the mango through

IvanV
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Re: Pesticides and pollinators: guilty as charged

Post by IvanV » Wed Dec 21, 2022 1:47 pm

nekomatic wrote:
Wed Dec 21, 2022 9:20 am
We provide empirical and model-based evidence that synthetic fertilizers recurrently alter the magnitude and dynamics of floral electrical cues, and that similar responses can be observed with the neonicotinoid pesticide imidacloprid. We show that biophysical responses interact in modifying floral electric fields and that such changes reduce bumblebee foraging, reflecting a perturbation in the sensory events experienced by bees during flower visitation. This unveils a previously unappreciated anthropogenic interference elicited by agrochemicals within the electric landscape that is likely relevant for a wide range of chemicals and organisms that rely on naturally occurring electric fields.
https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/arti ... 30/6814445
One specific neonicotinoid was tested, and there are many. But the mechanism cited could well apply to a variety of others sprayed chemicals of diverse types.

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