Persistent, Bioaccumulative, and Toxic Chemicals in Wild Alpine Insects: A Methodological Case Study.

ABSTRACT: With their high persistence in the environment and their potential for long-range atmospheric transport, persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic chemicals (PBTs) may be among the numerous anthropogenic threats to insect populations worldwide. The effects of PBTs on insects have been investigated in the laboratory, but topical field studies are scarce. A reason might be the multiple challenges faced by PBT-related field studies on wild insects. We studied two species of bumblebees (Bombus spp.) and of ants (Formica spp.) in two high-elevation locations in the Austrian and German Alps to tackle two of these challenges. First, PBTs occur in minuscule concentrations compared with other substances in the environment. Therefore, the practicability of body burden data from pooled individuals was t

SUBMITTER: Hierlmeier VR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9311829 | biostudies-literature | 2022 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature