Mutations found in Fukushima butterflies
FUKUSHIMA, Japan, Aug 13, 2012 -- UPI
Radioactive materials released into the environment by the
Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan have caused mutations in
butterflies, a study indicates.
Scientists say they've detected an increase in mutations in
leg, antennae and wing shape among butterflies collected
following the 2011 Fukushima accident, and that laboratory
experiments have confirmed the link with the radioactive
release.
Two months after the nuclear power plant accident in March
2011, Japanese researchers collected 144 adult pale grass blue
butterflies from 10 locations in Japan, including the Fukushima
area.
When the accident occurred, the butterflies would have been
overwintering as larvae, the researchers said.
In areas with more radiation in the environment, the
butterflies had much smaller wings and irregularly developed
eyes, they said, a surprising finding.
"It has been believed that insects are very resistant to
radiation," lead researcher Joji Otaki from the University of
the Ryukyus, Okinawa, told the BBC.
"In that sense, our results were unexpected."
Previous studies have identified birds and butterflies are
important tools to investigate the long-term impacts of
radioactive contaminants in the environment.
"This study is important and overwhelming in its implications
for both the human and biological communities living in
Fukushima," said University of South Carolina biologist Tim
Mousseau, who studies the impacts of radiation on animals and
plants but was not involved in the study.
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