How bees can monitor pollution for us — everything from toxic metals to antimicrobial resistance

Source: The post is based on the article “How bees can monitor pollution for us — everything from toxic metals to antimicrobial resistance”  published in Down To Earth on 26th August 2023

What is the News?

Two new studies have used honey bees as biomonitoring tools to track contamination in urban environments.

How can bees be used to track contamination and antimicrobial resistance?

Cities are complex places with multiple activities, making it challenging to monitor the spread of contaminants, which poses health concerns.

There’s increasing evidence that many chemicals used in daily life have no “safe” exposure limit, raising concerns about contamination’s impact on food, water, and human health.

To measure this contamination, Honey Bees can help us.Honey bees constantly pick up contaminants from their environment while foraging. 

Analyzing their chemical composition offers insights into contamination levels in their foraging area.

Moreover, bees can also help in assessing the spread of antimicrobial resistance genes, which can be ingested from water bodies. 

What are the several studies where bees were used to track contamination and antimicrobial resistance?

Case in Nouméa: Honey bees were used to map the impact of a local nickel smelter in Nouméa. Bees near the smelter showed elevated levels of metals associated with it, providing a sensitive marker of smelter contamination.

Sydney Study: Bees in Sydney were used to map trace metals and identify factors contributing to metal pollution.

Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR): Bees helped study the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes in Sydney.

Hence, using honey bees as biomonitoring tools can help track contamination in urban environments, identify pollution patterns and contribute to more effective responses to environmental health challenges.