Biology subjects

Storer, K.

Publications and source records attributed to Storer, K..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

The scents of summer: Plant-diversity and vegetation-height drive health-relevant scent exposure in urban greenspaces

Urban green infrastructure is increasingly promoted as a public-health intervention, yet the biological features that determine exposure to potentially beneficial plant-derived volatile compounds remain poorly understood. Here we quantified airborne terpenes and terpenoids across five contrasting urban greenspaces in Oxford, UK, and related chemical profiles to plant diversity, vegetation structure and surrounding habitat characteristics. Ambient air samples collected across spring and summer were analysed by thermal-desorption gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, alongside field surveys of taxonomic richness, canopy cover, vegetation volume and ground composition. Terpene and terpenoid scentscapes differed strongly among sites and through time, with monoterpenes dominating detected profiles. Sites with greater plant richness and greater vegetation volume below 1.5 m consistently showed higher terpene/terpenoid abundance, whereas total vegetation volume, canopy cover and tree abundance were weaker and less consistent predictors. These relationships were specific to plant-associated chemical classes and were not observed for predominantly anthropogenic volatile compounds. These patterns were resolved across only five independent sampling sites, and the relationships reported here should therefore be considered exploratory. Our findings suggest that human exposure to plant-derived volatiles in cities may be maximised not simply by increasing tree cover, but by designing biodiverse, structurally complex lower-to-mid-storey vegetation within the breathing zone. These results provide an empirical basis for incorporating scentscape ecology into health-oriented urban greenspace design.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2026

Sweet signals: Using floral traits to predict nectar sugar availability

Floral nectar is a key energy resource for many animals, yet its availability remains poorly quantified across plant communities. We tested whether floral traits can predict nectar rewards across diverse floras. We analysed relationships between floral morphology and nectar traits in 156 flowering plant species from temperate and tropical regions. Nectar volume, sugar concentration, and total sugar content were measured, and linear mixed-effects models were used to assess floral trait-nectar relationships in tubular and non-tubular flowers. Phylogenetic signal was evaluated using Blombergs K and Pagels {lambda}. Nectar volume increased strongly with corolla size in both floral types. Total sugar content scaled approximately 1:1 with nectar volume despite variation in sugar concentration, indicating that sugar reward is driven primarily by nectar volume. Floral morphology consistently predicted nectar rewards across floras, whereas phylogenetic relatedness explained relatively little variation. These findings provide a scalable framework for estimating floral sugar resources across landscapes.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2025

Pesticide-exposed bees fail to thermoregulate leading to cold colonies with consequences for offspring development

For many organisms, effective thermoregulation is needed to cope with changing environmental temperatures. But if exposure to pesticides in the environment were to impair this homeostatic process, reproduction and population viability could be at risk. Focusing on an important insect pollinator, we conducted three complementary experiments exposing bumblebees to a pesticide under different temperature challenges and measuring the impacts on thermoregulatory ability and brood development. First, we reveal that pesticide-exposed individuals cannot maintain a stable thorax temperature, especially at lower temperatures. Second, reductions in body temperature are accompanied by behavioural changes and that pesticide-exposed colonies fail to maintain appropriate brood temperatures. Third, such collective impairment on brood thermoregulation (not the pesticide toxicity to offspring per se) leads to delayed pupal development and reduced adult population growth. Our study provides a valid mechanistic explanation for why terrestrial insects requiring brood thermoregulation have declined. With frequent extreme weather events forecasted, our findings have concerning implications for how populations will adequately persist and grow under current pesticide-use regimes with ramifications on pollination services.

ecology↗