From nuclear desert to evolutionary lab: The response of living organisms to Chernobyl’s ionising radiation

Authors

  • German Orizaola University of Oviedo and in the UMIB-Research Unit of Biodiversity (University of Oviedo – CSIC – Principality of Asturias, Spain).

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7203/metode.10.15682

Keywords:

ecology, evolution, adaptation, mutation, radioactivity, Chernobyl

Abstract

The 1986 accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine caused the worst human-caused release of radioactive material in history. Initial forecasts considered that the area affected by radioactive contamination would be devoid of life for millennia. Three decades later, the biodiversity of the area has completely recovered and all the large mammals of Eastern Europe, as well as over 200 bird species, now live in Chernobyl. The mechanisms that allow organisms to live in this area are still the subject of study and controversy. There is currently no scientific consensus on the medium- and long-term impact of radiation on the nature of the area. Thus, basic research is required in Chernobyl to understand the effects that radioactive contamination had on biodiversity there. The area is also an excellent natural laboratory for studying eco-evolutionary processes in response to human activity.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biography

German Orizaola, University of Oviedo and in the UMIB-Research Unit of Biodiversity (University of Oviedo – CSIC – Principality of Asturias, Spain).

PhD in Biology. He works as a Ramón y Cajal researcher in the Zoology Unit at the University of Oviedo and in the UMIB-Research Unit of Biodiversity (University of Oviedo – CSIC – Principality of Asturias, Spain). He directs the Research Group on the Evolutionary Ecology of Extreme Environments at the University of Oviedo (Spain) and his research currently focuses on the field of radioecology, with amphibians as the main study model.  

References

Beresford, N. A., Scott, M., & Copplestone, D. (2019). Field effects studies in Chernobyl’s Exclusion Zone: Lessons to be learnt. Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, in press (corrected proof available online). doi: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2019.01.005

Bonisoli-Alquati, A., Ostermiller, S., Beasley, D. A. E., Welch, S. M., Møller, A. P., & Mousseau, T. A. (2018). Faster development covaries with higher DNA damage in grasshoppers (Chorthippus albomarginatus) from Chernobyl. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology, 91(2), 776–787. doi: 10.1086/696005

Deryabina, T. G., Kuchmel, S. V., Nagorskaya, L. L., Hinton, T. G., Beasley, J. C., Lerebours, A., & Smith, J. T. (2015). Long-term census data reveal abundant wildlife populations at Chernobyl. Current Biology, 25(19), 824–826. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2015.08.017

Galván, I., Bonisoli-Alquati, A., Jenkinson, S., Ghanem, G., Wakamatsu, K., Mousseau, T. A., & Møller, A. P. (2014). Chronic exposure to low-dose radiation at Chernobyl favours adaptation to oxidative stress in birds. Functional Ecology, 28(6), 1387–1403. doi: 10.1111/1365-2435.12283

Mousseau, T. A., & Møller, A. P. (2014). Genetic and ecological studies of animals in Chernobyl and Fukushima. Journal of Heredity, 105(5), 704–709. doi: 10.1093/jhered/esu040

Møller, A. P., & Mousseau, T. A. (2006). Biological consequences of Chernobyl: 20 years on. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 21(4), 200–207. doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2006.01.008

Møller, A. P., & Mousseau, T. A. (2016). Are organisms adapting to ionizing radiation at Chernobyl? Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 31(4), 281–289. doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2016.01.005

Murphy, J. F., Nagorskaya, L. L., & Smith, J. T. (2011). Abundance and diversity of aquatic macroinvertebrate communities in lakes exposed to Chernobyl-derived ionising radiation. Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 102(7), 688–694. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2011.04.007

Smith, J. (2007). Is Chernobyl radiation really causing negative individual and population-level effects on barn swallows? Biology Letters, 4(1), 63–64. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2007.0430

UNSCEAR. (1996). Effects of radiation on the environment. Sources and effects of ionizing radiation (UNSCEAR 1996 Report to the General Assembly, with Scientific Annexes). New York: United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation. 

Yablokov, A. V., Nesterenko, V. B., & Nesterenko, A. V. (2009). Consequences of the Chernobyl catastrophe for the environment. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1181(1), 221–286. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04830.x

Downloads

Published

2020-01-08

How to Cite

Orizaola, G. (2020). From nuclear desert to evolutionary lab: The response of living organisms to Chernobyl’s ionising radiation. Metode Science Studies Journal, (10), 193–199. https://doi.org/10.7203/metode.10.15682
Metrics
Views/Downloads
  • Abstract
    3028
  • PDF
    1056

Issue

Shades of science (2020)

Section

Endless forms. Evolutionary scenarios to unravel biodiversity

License

All the documents in the OJS platform are open access and property of their respective authors.

Authors publishing in the journal agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors keep the rights and guarantee Metode Science Studies Journal the right to be the first publication of the document, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of authorship and publication in the journal.
  2. Authors are allowed and encouraged to spread their work through electronic means using personal or institutional websites (institutional open archives, personal websites or professional and academic networks profiles) once the text has been published.

Metrics

Similar Articles

<< < > >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.