Floral scents are captured by enclosing flowers in clear plastic cups and pulling air out of the cups through an odor trap. Scientists found that drought changed the smell of all four species studied and reduced pollinator visitation to three of the four plant species. Justin B. Runyon, USDA Forest Service | Snapshot : Pollinators assist 80 percent of flowering plants in their reproduction, which accounts for much of the food ingested by humans and wildlife. The worldwide decline in pollinators highlights the importance of understanding factors affecting plant-pollinator interactions. Forest Service scientists examined how drought, which is predicted to increase in the Western United States due to climate change, affected floral odors and pollinator attraction in four plant species in Montana.
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