Male fruit flies exposed to ozone pollution may struggle to recognise members of the opposite sex, a study has suggested.

According to scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Germany, the male insects show an interest in members of their own sex due to high levels of ozone exposure disrupting the chemical mating signal, pheromones.

Researchers say their findings, published in the journal Nature Communications, raise concern that ozone pollution may play a part in the global decline of insects.