STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Monday, 28 April 2014

[Demeter]

9. Chernobyl’s Bugs: The Art And Science Of Life After Nuclear Fallout

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/chernobyls-bugs-art-and-science-life-after-nuclear-fallout-180951231/?utm_source=feedburner&no-ist

...Mutations caused by radionuclides (radioactive isotopes of elements) come in two forms: germline mutations in the DNA of the sperm or egg or mutations in cellular DNA due to exposure that can cause different forms of cancer. The first is passed down to future generations, and the second is typically not. Both types of mutations would likely look like mutations that arise normally in insects—so no glowing grasshoppers or giant flies of science fiction fodder are likely buzzing around Ukraine. Individual mutations probably wouldn’t impede an insect’s survival, but if new mutations accumulate in these bugs overtime, fitness could drop due to natural selection pressure.

For any animal or insect, a drop in fitness could produce negative effects at the ecological community level. Since the mid-1990s, scientists have reported that moose, boar, otter and other animal communities thrive around Chernobyl. But a string of studies since then have suggested that all might not be so idyllic for some species. Barn swallows living in the exclusion area have seen increased rates of albinism and cataracts, as well as decreased reproduction and survival.

“We have a very, very incomplete picture,” says Mousseau, who studies birds and insects around Chernobyl and Fukushima in Japan. In 2009, Mouseau and his colleagues did find lower populations of butterflies, bees, dragonflies and spiders in areas inside the 12-square-mile exclusion zone around Chernobyl compared to those further away. But, he adds, “There’s been very little research done to rigorously assess the impacts of the radioactive contaminants on the insect communities in the area.”

Scientists do know that some species might be less susceptible than others, and perhaps mutant bugs could adapt to such stressful conditions. In a Functional Ecology paper published this week, Mousseau and his colleagues revealed that some bird species living near Chernobyl might be adapting to low-dose radiation levels. As scientists discern Chernobyl’s radioactive legacy, they’re also figuring out how evolution works in a radioactive world.