This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:. Nano- and microplastic particles NMP are increasingly polluting urban and rural landscapes, where bees and other beneficial insects come into contact with them. If insects ingest plastic particles from food or the air, it can damage their organs and cause changes in their behavior, preventing them from properly performing ecosystem services such as pollination and pest control.
Plastic pollution thus poses considerable risks to biodiversity, agricultural production, and global food security. These are the main findings of a new review in the journal Nature Communications , which was conducted by an international team including researchers from the University of Freiburg. Microplastic particles are between one micrometer and five millimeters in size; still smaller particles are referred to as nanoplastics.
Whereas the harmful effects of NMP in water and for individual species are well documented, there have as yet been no systematic reviews on how the particles affect agricultural ecosystems. To fill this gap, the authors of the review summarized 21 already published individual studies for the first time. They were interested particularly in the question of how pollinator insects and other beneficial insects come into contact with NMP and what consequences the ingestion of the particles has for them, as well as for the ecosystems that are dependent on them and for agricultural production.
In this way, the researchers first succeeded in identifying different sources from which NMP end up on agricultural land , including plastic films, fertilizers, polluted water, and atmospheric depositions. The plastic particles accumulate in the soil, and pollinators and beneficial insects that are important for pest control ingest them from the air and food or use them to build nests. The authors of the study establish that the bees' ingestion of NMP leads, for example, to damage to their digestive system, to a weakening of their immune system, and to changes in their behavior.
This makes the bees more susceptible to diseases, possibly causing them to pollinate plants less effectively. We therefore urgently need to investigate what interaction this has with other stressors, such as climate change, for the bees and their pollination services," says Prof. Alexandra-Maria Klein, co-author of the study and professor for nature conservation and landscape ecology at the University of Freiburg. A decline in pollination services has a negative effect on crop yield.
