Genetics, Evolution and Radiation by Victoria L. Korogodina Carmel E Mothersill Sergey G. Inge-Vechtomov & Colin B. Seymour

Author:Victoria L. Korogodina, Carmel E Mothersill, Sergey G. Inge-Vechtomov & Colin B. Seymour
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Springer International Publishing, Cham

The overall pattern was very similar for birds in Fukushima in July of 2011, with the strength of the negative relationship between abundance and radiation significantly stronger in Fukushima when comparing the 14 bird species that were common to both regions (Møller et al. 2012a, 2013b). The observed stronger relationship in Fukushima could reflect the difference between acute and chronic exposures, with Chernobyl bird populations showing a response to 20 + years of selection for resistance, or this could reflect the effects of other radionuclides (e.g. I-131 and Cs-134) that were present at high levels in Fukushima during the spring of 2011 that are no longer present in Chernobyl.

Field studies in Fukushima were also conducted in 2012–2014, and the initial analyses showed a strengthening of the negative relationship between ambient radiation levels and abundance and species richness at a given site over time (Møller et al. 2015a, b; Fig. 4). Although no comprehensive surveys of raptors in Japan have yet been conducted, a recent study of goshawk (Accipiter gentilis Fujiyama) has reported significant declines in reproduction for this bird of prey in Fukushima following the disaster (Murase et al. 2015) although only three study areas were included in the analysis and thus attribution of the observed effect to radionuclide exposure is preliminary. Surveys of barn swallows (Hirundo rustica) showed significant drop-offs in abundance in the more radioactive regions of Fukushima although preliminary analyses did not indicate any relationship with genetic damage to blood cells in nestlings (Bonisoli-Alquati et al. 2015).

Fig. 4The relationship between ambient background radiation and (a) species richness and (b) abundance at a given site in Fukushima 2011–2014. Both species richness and total abundances show significant drop-offs in areas of high radiation. Adapted from Møller et al. (2015b)

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