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More Articles in Science »Chernobyl Taking a Toll on Invertebrates Too
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Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters
Population declines suggest invertebrates are very sensitive to radiation.
By HENRY FOUNTAIN
Published: March 23, 2009

Most of the talk about the ecological aftermath of the Chernobyl
nuclear accident in Ukraine has been about the impact of the 1986
disaster on animals. Recent research has refuted the idea that theregion around the power plant, contaminated by radiation and off
limits to most humans, has become a sort of post-apocalyptic Edenfor deer, foxes and other mammals and birds.

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shows that it’s not much of a paradisefor invertebrates, either. Anders Pape
Moller of the University of ParisSouth and Timothy A. Mousseau ofthe University of South Carolina
report in Biology Letters that theabundance of insects and spiders has been reduced in thearea.

The researchers conducted standard surveys in forests around Chernobyl over threesprings from 2006 to 2008, noting the numbers of bumblebees, butterflies,grasshoppers, dragonflies and spider webs at points with radiation levels that varied overfour orders of magnitude.

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Go to Complete List »After controlling for factors like height of vegetation and type of soil, they found thatabundance declined with increasing radiation intensity. The decline was noticeable evenin areas with relatively low levels (about 100 times normal background), which suggeststhat invertebrates are highly sensitive to radiation.

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The researchers note that most of the radiation in the area is in the top layer of soil, andgiven that many invertebrates spend much time in or near soil — as eggs, larvae or
adults — that could explain the decline.
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More Articles in Science »A version of this article appeared in print on March 24, 2009, on
page D3 of the New York edition.

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