Climate change is affecting ecosystems in many different ways. One of its consequences are increasingly longer and more intense periods of heat, which affect essential natural processes – such as pollination. A team of researchers from Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU) has now investigated in more detail how heat affects one particular player in these processes: The bumblebee.
Bumblebees are important pollinators in natural and agricultural systems. They therefore have a high economic and biodiversity value." Dr.
Sabine Nooten, head of the study The furry insects are also extremely susceptible to heat events, as they are particularly well adapted to colder habitats. Experimental heat harms the animals As pollinators, bumblebees are guided by the scents emitted by plants. These chemical signposts not only reveal the location of the plants, they also contain information about the condition of the flowers.
In the experiment, bumblebees were exposed to temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius in tubes – with serious consequences. "We found that the heat significantly impaired the bumblebees' ability to detect floral scents," says Sabine Nooten. They virtually lose their sense of smell.
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