Thursday, July 12, 2012

Insects in Chernobyl and Fukushima


Fukushima vs. Chernobyl: How Have Animals Fared? July 12 New York Times by Rachel Nuwer http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/12/fukushima-vs-chernobyl-how-have-animals-fared/?src=recg

Majia Here: This article examines a study published in the journal Ecological Indicators http://www.journals.elsevier.com/ecological-indicators/ of a wide array of insects and birds in Fukushima and Chernobyl. They incorporated variables such as rainfall and soil type into their analysis. 
 
[Excerpt] In Fukushima, they found that the abundance of birds, butterflies and cicadas had decreased significantly as the level of radiation increased. Bumblebees, dragonflies and grasshoppers were not affected by the release of radioactive materials, however. Surprisingly, spiders actually increased in abundance with the rise in radiation. 

...In Fukushima, animals have only cycled through a few generations at most since the disaster, so any mutations have probably not begun to manifest themselves. For short-lived species like insects, however, mutations could soon start to appear....

[Dr Mousseau] “Over all, it’s a myth to suggest that animal abundances are higher in the Chernobyl exclusion zones,”

[In Chernobyl] Dr. Mousseau said. “We’re looking at hundreds of years before many of the forested areas get better.”  

 

1 comment:

  1. The summer nights are silent. No crickets chirping at night in Central CA. Lot's of spiders.

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