Is Air Pollution Turning Fruit Flies ‘Gay’? Not Quite.

Recently, there has been some coverage of a study that found that carbon air pollution was causing fruit flies to engage in same-sex intercourse. While this is true, scientists don’t use words like gay, lesbian, bisexual, or queer to describe the behaviors of animals—Here’s why.

Although evangelicals will argue that homosexuality is unnatural, same-sex intercourse is found in many species. There are also over 500 species of fish that can change gender, though scientists would hesitate, and rightfully so, to call them trans icons. This is because these terms refer to human sexual orientation or gender identity with significant cultural and political implications.

While naturally occurring homosexual behaviors in animals are a great way to combat arguments that homosexuality is limited to humans, pollution-induced behaviors like that found in fruit flies are more of a stark warning of the effects of human carbon emissions than a queer win. For a more in-depth, and scientific, look at homosexuality in animals, read this article by LGBTQ Nation. 

So what about the flies? A German study published just this month found that “increased levels of ozone resulting from anthropogenic (human-caused) air pollution can degrade insect sex pheromones, which are crucial mating signals, and thus prevent successful reproduction.” In simple terms, increased carbon in the air is affecting fruit flies’ ability to distinguish between male and female pheromones. The researchers found that increased levels of ozone in the air can destroy the mating signal and thus contribute to the global insect decline.

Study author and professor Bill Hansson, the co-founder of the Max Planck Centre for Next Generation Insect Chemical Ecology, says: “Insects and their pheromones have evolved over millions of years. In contrast, the concentration of air pollutants has only increased dramatically since industrialization.

“It is unlikely that the communication systems of insects, which have evolved over the course of evolution, will be able to adapt to new conditions within a short period of time if pheromones are suddenly no longer there. The only solution to this dilemma is to immediately reduce pollutants in the atmosphere.”

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Fruit flies, like most insects, should be considered essential parts of our planet’s ecosystem. The decaying matter they eat may otherwise turn into a source of fungal or bacterial infection breeding grounds. Additionally, the fruit fly has played a starring role in much of the world’s scientific research for the past 100 years. Advancements in biomedical research, genetics, human health, and disease can all be attributed to studies involving the fruit fly.

Conservative coverage of this may look familiar. In 2010, a University of California, Berkley study launched outrageous coverage like that of Alex Jone’s infamous “they’re turning the frogs gay” rant. However, what the study actually found was much more alarming. Researchers discovered that species of the African frog could change sex when exposed to the pesticide, atrazine. Much like how homosexual behaviors in animals isn’t referred to as “gay,” the changing of sex in animals should not be equated to transgender humans, as gender is a human-made societal construct.

Like fruit flies, this pollution-induced change in mating behaviors led to the decline in African frog populations. However, unlike the fruit fly, African frogs have been found to be harmful to native ecosystems as they compete with native species for natural resources and introduce harmful pathogens that hurt native amphibian and fish populations, including salmon. Does this mean we should celebrate their eradication via pesticide-polluted water, or ignore the potential affects said water may be having on other life? Probably not.

So, before we celebrate the queering of frogs and fruit flies, let’s consider the environmental and scientific drawbacks of pollution caused population decline in the millions of species we share the Earth with.