title: Abundance and genetic damage of barn swallows from Fukushima.
abstract: A number of studies have assessed or modeled the distribution of the radionuclides released by the accident at the Fukushima-Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP). Few studies however have investigated its consequences for the local biota. We tested whether exposure of barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) nestlings to low dose ionizing radiation increased genetic damage to their peripheral erythrocytes. We estimated external radiation exposure by using thermoluminescent dosimeters, and by measuring radioactivity of the nest material. We then assessed DNA damage by means of the neutral comet assay. In addition, we conducted standard point-count censuses of barn swallows across environmental radiation levels, and estimated their abundance and local age ratio. Radioactivity of nest samples was in the range 479-143,349 Bq kg(-1), while external exposure varied between 0.15 and 4.9 mGy. Exposure to radioactive contamination did not correlate with higher genetic damage in nestlings. However, at higher levels of radioactive contamination the number of barn swallows declined and the fraction of juveniles decreased, indicating lower survival and lower reproduction and/or fledging rate. Thus, genetic damage to nestlings does not explain the decline of barn swallows in contaminated areas, and a proximate mechanism for the demographic effects documented here remains to be clarified.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bonisoli-Alquati
authors.affiliation: Japan Bird Research Association, Fuchu, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Koyama
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA.
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Tedeschi
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Environmental Studies, Tokyo City University, Yokohama City, Japan.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Kitamura
authors.affiliation: Value Frontier Co., Ltd., Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sukuzi
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ostermiller
authors.affiliation: Division of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Arai
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire d'Ecologie, Systématique et Evolution, CNRS UMR 8079, Université Paris-Sud, Bâtiment 362, F-91405 Orsay Cedex, France.
authors.forename: A P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Møller
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA.
authors.forename: T A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Mousseau
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004249:DNA Damage / Q000528:radiation effects*; D062406:Fukushima Nuclear Accident; D000069079:Radiation Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects; D011834:Radiation Monitoring; D046388:Swallows / Q000235:genetics*
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