Pollution and pollinators: A review

Jaweria Riaz; Habiba Razzaq; Tabassum Amjad; Aleena Anjum; Tania Afzal; Fiza Fatima; Nayab Fatima; Muhammad Faheem Malik

doi:10.19045/bspab.2020.90219

Biodiversity of Pollinators is declining day by day due to diverse environmental issues, posing a serious threat towards ecosystem services. This review aims to observe the pollinators' loss due to pollution, the different types of pollution causing decline of pollinators and alteration of plant-pollinator interactions due to these contaminants. It also maps the precarious role of pollinators in ecological stability and crisis of food security. Recapitulating literature of few decades from 1955-2019, a continuous trend of pollinators' decline was observed. Air, soil, light, noise, pesticides and heavy metal pollutants are basic pollution drivers for decline of pollinators. These pollutants have affected both plants and pollinators fitness and caused a serious decline in many species of pollinators. Almost 40% of moths and butterflies are at risk of extinction. If this rate proceeded for next few decades, will become a threat towards food security and economic instability. Conservation programs should be launched and followed to conserve precious biota on local and the global scale. An international accord must be started for restoration of pollinators' ecosystem globally.