Abstract
The nuclear accident in the Fukushima prefecture released a large amount of artificial radionuclides that might have short- and long-term biological effects on wildlife. Ionizing radiation can be a harmful source of reactive oxygen species, and previous studies have already shown reduced fitness effects in exposed animals in Chernobyl. Due to their potential health benefits, carotenoid pigments might be used by animals to limit detrimental effects of ionizing radiation exposure. Here, we examined concentrations of carotenoids in blood (i.e. a snapshot of levels in circulation), liver (endogenous carotenoid reserves), and the vocal sac skin (sexual signal) in relation to the total radiation dose rates absorbed by individual (TDR from 0.2 to 34 µGy/h) Japanese tree frogs (Hyla japonica). We found high within-site variability of TDRs, but no significant effects of the TDR on tissue carotenoid levels, suggesting that carotenoid distribution in amphibians might be less sensitive to ionizing radiation exposure than in other organisms or that the potential deleterious effects of radiation exposure might be less significant or more difficult to detect in Fukushima than in Chernobyl due to, among other things, differences in the abundance and mixture of each radionuclide.
Highlights
Rate[14,15,16]
We examined variation in carotenoid distribution among three tissues in Japanese tree frogs captured along a gradient of radioactive contamination in the Fukushima prefecture, only 16 months after the accident at the Fukushima Dai-ichi NPP
For the first time in an ecophysiological study in a radioactively contaminated natural environment, we combined the measurement of a crucial physiological process with an accurate estimation of the radiological dose received by each individual
Summary
Rate[14,15,16]. Garnier-Laplace et al.[17] recently showed that the overall abundance of birds at Fukushima during 2011–2014 decreased with increasing absorbed doses. Dietary availability of carotenoid pigments may be reduced if ionizing radiation impacts the fitness (i.e. abundance) or carotenoid status (e.g. health state) of food sources (e.g. plants, insects) In line with this hypothesis, Møller and Mousseau[30] showed that the abundance of potential invertebrate prey (e.g. bumblebees, butterflies, grasshoppers, dragonflies, and spiders) decreased with increasing ambient external dose rate around Chernobyl. Carotenoid pigments in the body (and those available for coloration) may be drained to limit the negative impact of an exposure to ionizing radiations on health Consistent with this idea, ambient dose rate measured at ground level positively predicted plasma concentration of reactive oxygen metabolites in barn swallows (Hirundo rustica) in Chernobyl[21]. (a) carotenoid levels may be depressed in all tissues if dietary intake and internal supplies have been depleted over time, or (b) if animals are investing carotenoids according to a terminal reproductive investment strategy, we might expect upregulation of carotenoid levels in all tissues, and especially in skin
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