Rewilding of Fukushima’s human evacuation zone

Rewilding of Fukushima’s human evacuation zone

There is substantial interest in understanding the ecological impacts of the nuclear accidents at the Chernobyl and Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plants. However, population-level data for large mammals have been limited, and there remains much speculation regarding the status of wildlife species...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Frontiers in ecology and the environment Vol. 18; no. 3; pp. 127 - 134
Main Authors: Lyons, Phillip C, Okuda, Kei, Hamilton, Matthew T, Hinton, Thomas G, Beasley, James C
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Washington John Wiley and Sons, Inc 01-04-2020
Ecological Society of America
Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
Subjects:
Abandonment
Birds
Cameras
Contamination
Data collection
Environmental restoration
Exclusion zones
Mammals
Nuclear accidents
Nuclear accidents & safety
Nuclear power plants
Occupancy
Population
Radioactive pollution
RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS
Wildlife
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Summary:There is substantial interest in understanding the ecological impacts of the nuclear accidents at the Chernobyl and Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plants. However, population-level data for large mammals have been limited, and there remains much speculation regarding the status of wildlife species in these areas. Using a network of remote cameras placed along a gradient of radiological contamination and human presence, we collected data on population-level impacts to wildlife (that is, abundance and occupancy patterns) following the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident. We found no evidence of population-level impacts in mid-to large-sized mammals or gallinaceous birds, and show several species were most abundant in human-evacuated areas, despite the presence of radiological contamination. These data provide unique evidence of the natural rewilding of the Fukushima landscape following human abandonment, and suggest that if any effects of radiological exposure in mid-to large-sized mammals in the Fukushima Exclusion Zone exist, they occur at individual or molecular scales, and do not appear to manifest in population-level responses.
Bibliography:USDOE
DE‐EM0004391
ISSN:1540-9295
1540-9309
DOI:10.1002/fee.2149