Applied College, Center of Bee Research and Its Products, Research Center for Advanced Materials Science (RCAMS), King Khalid University, P.O. Box 9004, 61413, Abha, Saudi Arabia.
Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Tanta University, Tanta, 31527, Egypt.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2024 Jul;31(34):46898-46909. doi: 10.1007/s11356-024-34184-y. Epub 2024 Jul 10.
The rapid increase in global plastic production and usage has led to global environmental contamination, with microplastics (MPs) emerging as a significant concern. Pollinators provide a crucial ecological service, while bee populations have been declining in recent years, and MPs have been recognized as a new risk factor contributing to their losses. Despite the pervasive distribution and persistence of MPs, understanding their risks to honey bees remains a critical knowledge gap. This review summarizes recent studies that investigate the toxicity of MPs on honey bee health from different perspectives. The findings revealed diverse and material-/size-/dosage-dependent outcomes, emphasizing the need for comprehensive assessments in the follow-up studies. MPs have been detected in honey and in bees' organs (e.g., gut and brain), posing potential threats to bee fitness, including altered behavior, cognitive abilities, compromised immunity, and dysfunction of the gut microbiota. It should be noticed that despite several laboratory studies suggesting the aforementioned adverse effects of MPs, field/semi-field experiments are still warranted. The synergistic toxicity of MPs with other environmental contaminants (pesticides, antibiotics, fungicides, heavy metals, etc.) still requires further investigation. Our review highlights the critical need to understand the relationships between MPs, pollinators, and the ecosystem to mitigate potential risks and ensure the sustainability of vital services provided by honey bees.
全球塑料产量和使用量的快速增长导致了全球性的环境污染，其中微塑料（MPs）成为一个重大关注点。传粉媒介提供了至关重要的生态服务，而近年来蜜蜂种群数量却一直在下降，MPs 已被确认为导致其减少的一个新的风险因素。尽管 MPs 分布广泛且具有持久性，但对其对蜜蜂健康的风险仍知之甚少。本综述总结了近期从不同角度研究 MPs 对蜜蜂健康毒性的研究。研究结果表明 MPs 具有多样化且与材料/尺寸/剂量相关的结果，这强调了在后续研究中需要进行全面评估。MPs 已在蜂蜜和蜜蜂器官（如肠道和大脑）中被检测到，这对蜜蜂的适应能力构成了潜在威胁，包括行为改变、认知能力下降、免疫力受损以及肠道微生物群功能障碍。值得注意的是，尽管有几项实验室研究表明 MPs 存在上述不良影响，但仍需要进行现场/半现场实验。 MPs 与其他环境污染物（杀虫剂、抗生素、杀真菌剂、重金属等）的协同毒性仍需进一步研究。本综述强调了迫切需要了解 MPs、传粉媒介和生态系统之间的关系，以减轻潜在风险并确保蜜蜂提供的重要服务的可持续性。
