Ozone alters the chemical signal required for plant – insect pollination: The case of the Mediterranean fig tree and its specific pollinator

• Published in: The Science of the total environment Vol. 919; p. 170861
• Main Authors: Dubuisson, Candice, Wortham, Henri, Garinie, Tessie, Hossaert-McKey, Martine, Lapeyre, Benoit, Buatois, Bruno, Temime-Roussel, Brice, Ormeño, Elena, Staudt, Michael, Proffit, Magali
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01.04.2024; Elsevier
• Subjects: Air pollution; Animals; Biodiversity and Ecology; Environmental Sciences; Ficus; Ficus carica; Flowers; Global Changes; Mediterranean ecosystems; Ozone; Plant-pollinator interaction; Pollination - physiology; Trees; VOCs; Volatile Organic Compounds; Wasps - physiology; Plant-pollinator interaction; VOCs; Air pollution; Mediterranean ecosystems; Flowers; Ficus carica
• ISSN: 0048-9697; 1879-1026
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.170861

Tropospheric ozone (O3) is likely to affect the chemical signal emitted by flowers to attract their pollinators through its effects on the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and its high reactivity with these compounds in the atmosphere. We investigated these possible effects using a plant-pollinator interaction where the VOCs responsible for pollinator attraction are known and which is commonly exposed to high O3 concentration episodes: the Mediterranean fig tree (Ficus carica) and its unique pollinator, the fig wasp (Blastophaga psenes). In controlled conditions, we exposed fig trees bearing receptive figs to a high-O3 episode (5 h) of 200 ppb and analyzed VOC emission. In addition, we investigated the chemical reactions occurring in the atmosphere between O3 and pollinator-attractive VOCs using real-time monitoring. Finally, we tested the response of fig wasps to the chemical signal when exposed to increasing O3 mixing ratios (0, 40, 80, 120 and 200 ppb). The exposure of the fig tree to high O3 levels induced a significant decrease in leaf stomatal conductance, a limited change in the emission by receptive figs of VOCs not involved in pollinator attraction, but a major change in the relative abundances of the compounds among pollinator-attractive VOCs in O3-enriched atmosphere. Fig VOCs reacted with O3 in the atmosphere even at the lowest level tested (40 ppb) and the resulting changes in VOC composition significantly disrupted the attraction of the specific pollinator. These results strongly suggest that current O3 episodes are probably already affecting the interaction between the fig tree and its specific pollinator. [Display omitted] •An acute O3 episode has no impact on the emission of pollinator-attractive VOCs.•O3 affects the proportions of pollinator-attractive VOCs in the atmosphere.•Change induced by VOC exposure to O3 from 40 ppb disrupts pollinator attraction.