Canada: Honey bees can help monitor pollution in cities – University of BC study

Researchers found the concentration of elements like lead, zinc and copper increased closer to areas with heavy traffic, higher urban density and industrial activity such as shipping ports

By Hina Alam
The Canadian Press
March 17, 2019

Excerpt:

Scientists from the university’s Pacific Centre for Isotopic and Geochemical Research analyzed honey from urban beehives in six Metro Vancouver neighbourhoods where they tested for lead, zinc, copper and other elements.

“They fly through the air and drink water and land on surfaces in addition to foraging the way we think they forge for pollen and nectar,” said Kate E. Smith, lead author of the study and a PhD student at the university. “So while they are interacting with all parts of the environment they are also passively collecting dust and particulates.”

The researchers found the concentration of elements increased closer to areas with heavy traffic, higher urban density and industrial activity such as shipping ports.

Scientists analyzed beehives from rooftops in high-density urban areas to those off on Galiano Island, she said.

“So we have hives surrounded by all different types of land use,” Smith said.

They found that honey from areas downtown, higher urban density or heavier concentration of industrial activity had elevated concentrations of certain trace elements that are indicative of human activity such as zinc, titanium, copper or lead.

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