Olfaction in the Anthropocene: NO3 negatively impacts floral scent and nocturnal pollination

There is growing concern about sensory pollutants impacting ecological communities. Anthropogenically enhanced oxidants (O3 and NO3) rapidly degrade floral scents, potentially reducing pollinator attraction to flowers. However, the physiological and behavioral impacts on pollinators and plant fitness are unknown. Using a nocturnal flower-moth system, we find that atmospheric concentrations of NO3, but not O3, eliminate flower visitation by moths, and it is the reaction of NO3 to a subset of monoterpenes that reduces the scent’s attractiveness. Global atmospheric models of floral scent oxidation reveal that pollinators in certain urban areas may have a reduced ability to perceive and navigate to flowers. These results illustrate the impact of anthropogenic pollutants on an animal’s olfactory ability and indicate that such pollutants may be critical regulators of global pollination., The GEOS-Chem chemical transport model was used for simulations driven by assimilated MERRA-2 (Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2) meteorological fields (33). GEOS-Chem is an open-access global atmospheric chemistry model that can simulate tropospheric and stratospheric oxidant–aerosol chemistry, aerosol microphysics, and budgets of various gases, including ozone and nitrate radicals. The model uses analyzed winds and other meteorological variables produced by Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) simulations of the NASA Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO) with assimilated meteorological observations and couples these measurements with the chemistry. The recent model advances and assimilation of observed meteorological fields via MERRA-2 have led to accurate simulation of ozone and nitrate radical concentrations in the models (51).
In the present day simulation, we use GEOS-Chem version 12.1.0 driven by MERAA-2 meteorology at a horizont..., , # Olfaction in the Anthropocene: NO3 negatively impacts floral scent and nocturnal pollination

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.vt4b8gtzk](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.vt4b8gtzk)

Includes data on chemical analytical results (GCMS, ToF), behavior, and field measurements.

## Description of the data and file structure

File list:

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* Fig2D_ToFdata.txt

Fig2D_ToFdata.txt corresponds to the ion counts from the Figure 2D scent in reaction to the ozone and nitrate radicals. Column 1 is the time (minutes) and Column 2 is the ion counts.

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* Fig_S2A_Megachile_raw_GCEAD_trace.atf
* Fig_S2B_Hyles_raw_GCEAD_trace.atf
* Fig_S2B_Manduca_raw_GCEAD_trace.atf

GC-EAD measurements in Figure S2A and S2B. In the files, Column 1 is the timestamp (sec.), Column 2 is the EAD response (mV), and Column 3 is the GC trace (V).

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* FigS3_20180711_OPALL_6700000048751741_180719.csv
* FigS3_20180725_OPALL_FD00000048732241_180730.csv
* FigS3_20180801_OPALL_6700000048751741_180806.csv

Figur...