Researchers have carried out the first global survey of radiation exposure caused by the meltdown of three nuclear reactors at the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan after a tsunami struck in 2011.
Bird numbers have dramatically declined in Fukushima, seperate research has revealed. Scientists analysed 57 species in the region and found that the majority of populations had diminished as a result of the nuclear accident. They found that one breed in particular had plummeted from several hundred before the 2011 disaster to just a few dozen today. The research, published in the Journal of Ornithology, was carried out by scientists at the University of South Carolina including biologist Dr Tim Mousseau. They showed that the situation has steadily worsened since the disaster on 11 March 2011. On that day, just over four years ago, Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was heavily damaged by an earthquake and its resultant tsunami. Many populations were found to have diminished in number as a result of the accident, with several species suffering dramatic declines. One of the most hard-hit species is the barn swallow, Hirundo rustica, which suffered large population losses due to radiation exposure. ‘We know that there were hundreds in a given area before the disaster, and just a couple of years later we’re only able to find a few dozen left,’ said Dr Mousseau. ‘The declines have been really dramatic.’ And while background radiation has declined in the region in recent years, the negative effects of the accident on birds are actually increasing. ‘The relationship between radiation and numbers started off negative the first summer, but the strength of the relationship has actually increased each year,’ Dr Mousseau said. ‘So now we see this really striking drop-off in numbers of birds as well as numbers of species of birds. ‘So both the biodiversity and the abundance are showing dramatic impacts in these areas with higher radiation levels, even as the levels are declining.’
