HomeTop StoriesDid you know Temperature change increases pesticide risk to bees ?

Did you know Temperature change increases pesticide risk to bees ?

Temperature affects how badly pesticides affect bee behavior, according to a new study, meaning the effects of climate change are unpredictable. The findings suggest that future extreme temperature events under climate change could increase the impact of pesticides on bee populations and their pollination services.

Some pesticides, particularly a class called neonicotinoids, are known to affect bees and other important insects and are believed to be contributing to population declines. However, the response of bees to this threat around the world often appears to vary, suggesting that other interacting factors are at play.

Now scientists at Imperial College London have shown that environmental temperature can affect the degree to which pesticides can alter a range of bumblebee behaviors important to their survival and ability to pollinate crops. The study is published today in Global Change Biology.

The team studied the behavior of six bumblebees under the influence of two pesticides (nonicotinoid imidacloprid and sulfoximine sulfoxaflor) at three temperatures (21, 27 and 30 °C).

Four of these behaviors—sensitivity, probability of movement, walking speed, and food consumption rate—were affected by imidacloprid more strongly at lower temperature. This suggests that frost could increase the toxicity of pesticides on behaviors important for nesting duties.

However, a key behavior – how far the bees could fly – was most strongly affected by imidacloprid at the highest temperature. This relationship showed a strong decline, with flight distance being the same between 21 and 27 °C, before dropping sharply when reaching 30 °C.

Lead researcher Dr. Richard Gill, from the Department of Life Sciences (Silwood Park) at Imperial, said: “The decline in flight performance at the highest temperature suggests that a ‘tipping point’ has been reached in bees’ ability to tolerate combined exposure to temperature and pesticides. This apparent cliff effect occurs within a range of just three degrees, changing our perception of the dynamics of pesticide risk given that such temperature changes can routinely occur over the course of a day.

“Additionally, the frequency with which bees will be exposed to pesticides and extreme temperatures due to climate change is expected to increase. Our work can help inform the correct concentrations and timing of pesticide applications in different climates around the world to help protect pollinators such as bees.

Pollination problems

Flight distance is crucial for pollination as it promotes foraging potential and contributes to food security through crop pollination

Although the tropics are generally warmer, it is possible that populations of insect pollinators in more temperate latitudes, including the UK, feel the effects of pesticides more strongly because the temperature ranges are greater.

Bees are responsible for pollinating many important cereal crops, as well as legumes and fruit trees. As we diversify our food supply, the demand for their pollination services will increase – but so too can bees facing stress from climate change and increased use of insecticides.

This work, quantifying the relationships between temperature and pesticide impact, should help model pesticide risks in different regions of the world as the climate changes, the researchers say. First author Daniel Kenna, from the Department of Life Sciences (Silwood Park) at Imperial, said: “Our findings show that environmental context is crucial when assessing pesticide toxicity, particularly when projecting bee responses to future climate change.”

Co-author Dr Peter Graystock, from the Department of Life Sciences (Silwood Park) at Imperial, said: “These results are important for the development of a toxicity forecasting framework that allows us to predict how bee populations will respond to climate change while living in an intensive agricultural landscape. “

The team next wants to conduct more comprehensive studies across a temperature gradient to determine how toxicity varies with temperature and where exactly the tipping points may lie in a range of species.

Read Now :<strong>World Meteorological Day 2023: celebrate the founding of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), all you need to know</strong>

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