Chernobyl frogs defy odds with radiation resilience and color change
The frogs of Chernobyl demonstrate that the impossible may not exist. These small amphibians have shown resilience to the radiation that followed the disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which has had a destructive impact on plants, animals, and humans.
The Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster will be discussed for hundreds of years to come. The 1986 nuclear reactor accident contaminated 31,000 to 36,000 acres, resulting in the relocation of approximately 350,000 people. The residents of Chernobyl and nearby towns fled their homes, but wild animals, unaware of the immense danger, remained in the area.
Scientists from the Spanish Estación Biológica de Doñana decided to study the frogs living in Chernobyl to understand the impact of the reactor accident on wild animals. The researchers were particularly interested in the eastern tree frogs living in the area. Samples for the Spanish researchers' studies were collected between 2016 and 2018. In total, scientists gathered over 200 frogs from areas spanning the full spectrum of contamination. In laboratories, they determined the frogs' age, the amount of radiation absorbed by them, and the level of the stress hormone (corticosterone). They also assessed the rate of aging by analyzing the length of telomeres.
One of the study's authors, Pablo Burraco from Estación Biológica de Doñana, said in an interview with "IFLScience": “The results showed no difference in longevity, aging rates, or corticosterone levels between the tree frogs in Chernobyl and those from outside the contaminated area, which were used as a control group in this study. I believe that the radiation levels present in the Exclusion Zone are not sufficient to cause significant harm to the local wildlife species' organisms, at least in most areas of Chernobyl.”
Radiation has changed the color of eastern tree frogs
Researchers noticed that the color of eastern tree frogs living in the contaminated zones differs significantly from the typical shade of this amphibian species. Tree frogs are usually bright green, while the frogs inhabiting the area around Chernobyl are black. Scientists explain that "dark pigmentation is typical for frogs from the areas most contaminated at the time of the reactor explosion. It involves melanin, which can absorb and diffuse some of the radiation."
Source: "Wyborcza"
