Scientists find the signal of a decline in the numbers of insects in Chernobyl’s exclusion zone, 20 years after the nuclear accident. Chernobyl is largely human-free but still contaminated with radiation 

Two decades after the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, radiation is still causing a reduction in the numbers of insects and spiders. According to researchers working in the exclusion zone surrounding Chernobyl, there is a "strong signal of decline associated with the contamination". The team found that bumblebees, butterflies, grasshoppers, dragonflies and spiders were affected. They report their findings in the journal Biology Letters. Professor Timothy Mousseau from the University of South Carolina, US, and Dr Anders Moller from the University of Paris-Sud worked together on the project. The two researchers previously published findings that low-level radiation in the area has a negative impact on bird populations. "We wanted to expand the range of our coverage to include insects, mammals and plants," said Professor Mousseau. "This study is the next in the series." … "We took transects through contaminated areas in Chernobyl, contaminated land in Belarus, and in areas free of contamination. "What we found was the same basic pattern throughout these areas – the numbers of organisms declined with increasing contamination." …

Chernobyl ‘shows insect decline’

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