Air Pollution and Insects
Our air is the one thing that surrounds all of us. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 9 of the world’s 10 most polluted cities are now in India. Yet, we have almost no idea how air pollution is affecting other organisms who breathe the same air as we do. In some of the first research in the world to try to address the physiological and molecular impacts of air pollution on our wild plants and animals, scientists from the Bangalore Life Science Cluster show that air pollution could be devastating for organisms we rely on most for our own survival – like the honey bee.Dr. Shannon Olsson’s lab at the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) in Bangalore observed fewer pollinators in urban centres of the city. Was it pesticide use that caused this? Lack of water or shade? Determined to find out, Geetha G Thimmegowda traveled to different locations of this megacity to observe and collect the Giant Asian honey bee.
Air Pollution and Insects
Our air is the one thing that surrounds all of us. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 9 of the world’s 10 most polluted cities are now in India.
Yet, we have almost no idea how air pollution is affecting other organisms who breathe the same air as we do. In some of the first research in the world to try to address the physiological and molecular impacts of air pollution on our wild plants and animals, scientists from the Bangalore Life Science Cluster show that air pollution could be devastating for organisms we rely on most for our own survival – like the honey bee.Dr. Shannon Olsson’s lab at the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) in Bangalore observed fewer pollinators in urban centres of the city. Was it pesticide use that caused this? Lack of water or shade? Determined to find out, Geetha G Thimmegowda traveled to different locations of this megacity to observe and collect the Giant Asian honey bee.
Colonies in Conflict: Wip Teaser
The protagonist of this call to action film, is the Indian Rock Bee. A prolific wild pollinator, coveted for its enormous stores of honey, and feared for its volatile temperament, the Rock Bee is caught in the middle of an anthropogenic count down. The film follows this migratory bee as it navigates from the city, to the fields and to the forest, investigating the reason for its decline and its impact on humankind.
