The Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, encompassing approximately 2,600 km around the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, exhibits uneven contamination levels.
"The consequences of radiological contamination to wildlife are still widely unknown, especially the risks posed to wildlife in early life," says Mr. Sameli Piirto, a PhD researcher at the University of Jyvaskyla, Finland. "Our hypothesis was that biodiversity in contaminated areas would be compromised leading to changes in birds breeding, diet and gut microbiome."
To study the impact of radiation on bird development, Mr. Piirto and his team focused on two common European songbird species: the Great Tit (Parus major) and the Pied Flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca). These species were chosen for their well-documented ecologies.
The researchers installed nest boxes in two categories of the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone: areas with high radiation and areas with low radiation. They monitored the nestling and adult birds using these boxes, analyzing DNA from fecal samples to investigate the birds' diets and gut microbial communities.
Mr. Piirto discovered that nest occupancy was lower in high-radiation areas, but there were no significant differences in breeding ecology or nestling health between high and low radiation zones for either species. Interestingly, nestlings in contaminated areas had a more diverse insect diet.
While radiation levels did not affect the bacterial diversity of the birds' gut microbiomes, they did influence the relative composition of these microbiomes. "These results create an interesting background for understanding avian ecology in radiologically contaminated areas," says Mr. Piirto. "They give us valuable novel information on the effects that radiation has on juvenile birds - an area of research that has been unclear until now."
This research provides crucial insights into the long-term effects of nuclear accidents on wildlife health. "Radiological contamination creates an additional stressor that organisms must cope with, leading to a myriad of consequences that are not yet fully understood," says Mr. Piirto. "Studying the effects of it is crucial if humanity is to pursue an even more nuclear future."
This research is being presented at the Society for Experimental Biology Annual Conference in Prague on July 2-5, 2024.
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