Impact Type: Direct exposure to pollutant
Key Concerns:
Bolsinger et al. (1992) found that aphids feeding on plants exposed to ozone show increased rate of growth and development. They link this to enhanced food quality and changes in amino acids in the plants, due to ozone stress. The benefits to Aphis imply that there are larger negative effects on the host plants (Bell et al. 1993).
Aphids may also benefit from reduced predation by parasitoids as O3 may affect their searching behaviour and hence reduce the efficiency of natural enemy control of pest species (Gate et al. 1995).
However, it can be difficult to predict the response of aphids to O3 on any given plant (Helivvaara & Vdisdnen 1993, Jones et al. 1994, Whittaker 2001) and there has been relativeyl little research on the topic.
Additional Comments:
In healthy plants air pollutants are generally taken up by diffusion through the stomata (Kersteins 1996). Damage caused by invertebrate may significantly affect this uptake of pollutants (Whittaker 2001).
| Critical Load/ Level |
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No estimate available |