Sayak Banerjee, Amity University Kolkata
Environmental impacts on wildlife
There has been an unexpected change in the environment such as severe climatic changes, and the destruction and fragmentation of habitat, due to recent human activity. These also include the discharge of novel substances to the environment with the capacity to affect the physiology, behaviour, and life history of certain organisms. These human actions have brought up a worldwide change in ecosystems thus having significant consequences on fitness. Exposure to pollutants can give rise to several physiological and biochemical modifications in wildlife. Among a range of pollutants released into the ecosystem, ionizing radiation can result in serious damage at various functional and molecular levels.
All organisms are in continuous exposure to very low levels of ionizing radiation which mostly arise from naturally occurring radioactive materials and cosmic rays. Despite that, there has been accidental dissemination of huge amounts of ionizing radiation to the environment because of human activity. This involves the accidents on the nuclear power plants of Chernobyl, in the year 1986, and Fukushima, in the year 2011. These ionizing radiations are symbolic to cell apoptosis, disruption of physiological processes and can induce chronic inflammatory responses.
The life cycle of amphibians is biphasic as they include stages in water as well as land hence exposing their life to radiation coming from both terrestrial and aquatic sources. It has been reported that the Japanese tree frog (Hyla japonica) in Fukushima although having no dose effects on carotenoid levels in the blood, vocal sac, and liver, there has been an evident dose-dependent increase in DNA methylation and mitochondrial DNA damage.
The Findings from the Chernobyl Incident
The disaster at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, on 26th April 1986, exhibited the biggest dissemination of ionizing radiation in human history, increasing the radiation levels in the nearby area up to one million times after the accident. The incident serves as a unique situation for the analysis of how chronic exposure to ionizing radiation brings about evolutionary and ecological alterations in wildlife. Some studies show that this chronic exposure might have developed adaptive responses in the species to deal with the radiation levels at present. While some studies show that this exposure to ionizing radiation is associated with negative physiological effects on many species.
The scientists have studied the consequences of the current exposure to ionizing radiation on blood physiology biomarkers of adult males of the Eastern tree frog (Hyla oreantalis) inhabiting within and outside the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. They evaluated the levels of eight blood parameters which consist of sodium, potassium, ionized calcium, glucose, chloride, total carbon dioxide, urea nitrogen, and anion gap. They also measured the physiological markers of homeostasis along with the functioning of the kidney and liver. It was hypothesized by them that the frogs inhabiting the Chernobyl area would harm their blood physiology in comparison to the ones outside the Chernobyl Area.
On comparing the two sets of frogs, the researchers found that both had similar blood physiological levels. They said that ionizing radiation is known to bring a severe impact on organisms at early developmental stages. Therefore, the vulnerable individuals might have purged due to selection driven by chronic radiation. This exposure to radiation during three decades has posed a resilient selective force favouring the individuals with the potential to adjust their physiology to avoid the effects of radiation exposure. As a result, there has been no variation in the examined blood parameters.
Nevertheless, more study including other different species, their life stages, and eco-evolutionary situations is required for an improved perception regarding the effects of exposure to ionizing radiation on wildlife physiology, particularly on amphibians. There might be future studies including the extraction of eco-evolutionary effects of radioactively contaminated environments.
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Reference:
- Burraco, P., Bonzom, JM., Car, C. et al. Lack of impact of radiation on blood physiology biomarkers of Chernobyl tree frogs. Front Zool 18, 33 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12983-021-00416-x
About author:
Sayak Banerjee is a 3rd-year Biotechnology Engineering Student with a great interest in Immunology and Molecular genetics. He is a creative scientific writer in Bioxone with an inclination towards gaining knowledge regarding various sections of Biotechnology and emphasizing himself in various wet lab skills.
Publications:
- https://bioxone.in/news/worldnews/car-t-cells-scientists-discover-on-off-switches-for-cell-immunotherapy/
- https://bioxone.in/news/worldnews/neutrophil-derived-nanovesicles-a-novel-drug-delivery-system/
- https://bioxone.in/news/worldnews/pig-to-human-heart-transplantation-a-solution-to-the-rarity-of-donor-organs/
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- Cell Senescence in Type II Diabetes: Therapeutic Potential
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- AI Literacy in Early Childhood Education: Challenges and Opportunities
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