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Plant-Insect Ecosystems

Student Competition 10-Minute Paper

Grad P-IE: Pollination On-Demand Presentations

Honey as a sustainable indicator of heavy metals in tropical rainforest vegetation zone: An early warning monitoring approach

On-Demand
Student Competition On-Demand
Honeybees are considered important bioindicators in detecting contaminants in the environment. Some cases of environmental contamination could not have been proven without the aid of honeybees in the vicinity. Herein presented is an integrative approach in using Apis mellifera honey to detect heavy metals in a rainforest vegetation zone where no monitoring protocol has been established for the contaminants. Our goal was to utilize honey as an early warning assessment tool in a developing country with limited technological advantages due to the ease of its acquisition in the region. Honey samples were collected from different apiaries in three harvest seasons. Acid-based digestion of samples was performed and heavy metals analysed with an atomic absorption spectrophotometer. A melissopalynological analysis was conducted to indicate foraging and interactions of bees within the sampling environment. Honey samples indicated significant variations in the concentrations of heavy metals between locations. Iron was observed to be prevalent in seven different locations; manganese persisted in four and lastly copper and zinc in two different locations respectively. Interestingly, a restriction in foraging activities of bees in one location caused a significant increase in the total heavy metals indicating that minimal foraging activities may not accurately reflect the status of contaminants in the environment in bio-monitoring. Our data further suggest that a melissopalynological analysis should always be integrated to validate bees’ active patrol of the sampled vicinity. The application of honey indicates its usefulness in the early detection of contaminants in forested environments to check for negative anthropogenic influences.