title: Does Chernobyl-derived radiation impact the developmental stability of Asellus aquaticus 30years on?
abstract: Effects of long-term, environmentally relevant doses of radiation on biota remain unclear due to a lack of studies following chronic exposure in contaminated environments. The 1986 Chernobyl accident dispersed vast amounts of radioactivity into the environment which persists to date. Despite three decades of research, impacts of the incident on non-human organisms continues to be contested within the scientific literature. The present study assessed the impact of chronic radiation exposure from Chernobyl on the developmental stability of the model aquatic isopod, Asellus aquaticus using fluctuating asymmetry (FA) as an indicator. Fluctuating asymmetry, defined as random deviations from the expected perfect bilateral symmetry of an organism, has gained prominence as an indicator of developmental stability in ecotoxicology. Organisms were collected from six lakes along a gradient of radionuclide contamination in Belarus and the Ukraine. Calculated total dose rates ranged from 0.06-27.1μGy/h. Fluctuating asymmetry was assessed in four meristic and one metrical trait. Significant differences in levels of pooled asymmetry were recorded between sample sites independent of sex and specific trait measured. However, there was no correlation of asymmetry with radiation doses, suggesting that differences in asymmetry were not attributed to radionuclide contamination and were driven by elevated asymmetry at a single site. No correlation between FA and measured environmental parameters suggested a biotic factor driving observed FA differences. This study appears to be the first to record no evident increase in developmental stability of biota from the Chernobyl region. These findings will aid in understanding the response of organisms to chronic pollutant exposure and the long term effects of large scale nuclear incidents such as Chernobyl and Fukushima.
authors: Institute of Marine Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, University of Portsmouth, Ferry Road, Portsmouth, Hampshire PO4 9LY, UK.
authors: Neil
authors: N
authors: Fuller
authors: School of Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Portsmouth, Burnaby Building, Burnaby Road, Portsmouth, Hampshire PO1 3QL, UK.
authors: Jim T
authors: JT
authors: Smith
authors: Applied Science Center for Bioresources of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, 27 Academicheskaya Str., 220072 Minsk, Belarus.
authors: Liubov L
authors: LL
authors: Nagorskaya
authors: Department of Freshwater Radioecology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Geroyev Stalingrada Ave. 12, UA-04210 Kiev, Ukraine.
authors: Dmitri I
authors: DI
authors: Gudkov
authors: Institute of Marine Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, University of Portsmouth, Ferry Road, Portsmouth, Hampshire PO4 9LY, UK. Electronic address: alex.ford@port.ac.uk.
authors: Alex T
authors: AT
authors: Ford
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D047852:Chernobyl Nuclear Accident; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D033321:Isopoda / Q000528:radiation effects*; D011848:Radioactive Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D011868:Radioisotopes; D002094:Republic of Belarus; D013997:Time Factors; D014455:Ukraine
chemical_list: D011848:Radioactive Pollutants; D011868:Radioisotopes
keywords: Aquatic invertebrate; Chernobyl; Fluctuating asymmetry; Radioactivity