High frequency of albinism and tumours in free-living birds around Chernobyl.

The effects of radioactive contamination on the phenotype of free-living organisms are poorly understood, mainly because of the difficulty of capturing the large numbers of individual specimens that are required to quantify rare events such as albinism and tumour formation. We hypothesized that the frequency of abnormalities like albinism and the frequency of radiation-induced diseases like cancer would increase with the level of background radiation, that the two markers of radiation would be positively correlated, and that the reduction in abundance of animals would be greater in species with a higher frequency of albinism and tumour formation, if these markers reliably reflected poor viability. Here we analyzed the frequency of albinistic feathers and tumours in a sample of 1669 birds captured during 2010-2012 at eight sites around Chernobyl that varied in level of background radiation from 0.02 to more than 200µSv/h. We recorded 111 cases of partial albinism and 25 cases of tumour formation. Nominal logistic models were used to partition the variance into components due to species and background radiation. Radiation was a strong predictor of the two markers in birds, with a small, but significant effect of species for albinism. The slope of the relationship between abundance and radiation in different bird species was significantly inversely correlated with the frequency of albinism and tumours, as was to be expected if a common underlying cause (i.e. radiation) affects both variables. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that background radiation is a cause of albinism and tumours, that albinism and tumours are biomarkers of radiation exposure, and that high frequencies of albinism and tumours were present despite the low viability of birds with these conditions.

Effects of parental radiation exposure on developmental instability in grasshoppers.

Mutagenic and epigenetic effects of environmental stressors and their transgenerational consequences are of interest to evolutionary biologists because they can amplify natural genetic variation. We studied the effect of parental exposure to radioactive contamination on offspring development in lesser marsh grasshopper Chorthippus albomarginatus. We used a geometric morphometric approach to measure fluctuating asymmetry (FA), wing shape and wing size. We measured time to sexual maturity to check whether parental exposure to radiation influenced offspring developmental trajectory and tested effects of radiation on hatching success and parental fecundity. Wings were larger in early maturing individuals born to parents from high radiation sites compared to early maturing individuals from low radiation sites. As time to sexual maturity increased, wing size decreased but more sharply in individuals from high radiation sites. Radiation exposure did not significantly affect FA or shape in wings nor did it significantly affect hatching success and fecundity. Overall, parental radiation exposure can adversely affect offspring development and fitness depending on developmental trajectories although the cause of this effect remains unclear. We suggest more direct measures of fitness and the inclusion of replication in future studies to help further our understanding of the relationship between developmental instability, fitness and environmental stress.

MHC genotype predicts mate choice in the ring-necked pheasant Phasianus colchicus.

Females of several vertebrate species selectively mate with males on the basis of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes. As androgen-mediated maternal effects have long-lasting consequences for the adult phenotype, both mating and reproductive success may depend on the combined effect of MHC genotype and exposure to androgens during early ontogeny. We studied how MHC-based mate choice in ring-necked pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) was influenced by an experimental in ovo testosterone (T) increase. There was no conclusive evidence of in ovo T treatment differentially affecting mate choice in relation to MHC genotype. However, females avoided mating with males with a wholly different MHC genotype compared with males sharing at least one MHC allele. Females also tended to avoid mating with MHC-identical males, though not significantly so. These findings suggest that female pheasants preferred males with intermediate MHC dissimilarity. Male MHC heterozygosity or diversity did not predict the expression of ornaments or male dominance rank. Thus, MHC-based mating preferences in the ring-necked pheasant do not seem to be mediated by ornaments' expression and may have evolved mainly to reduce the costs of high heterozygosity at MHC loci for the progeny, such as increased risk of autoimmune diseases or disruption of coadapted gene pools.

Transcriptome analysis indicates a broad range of toxic effects of Deepwater Horizon oil on Seaside Sparrows.

In marine species, the transcriptomic response to Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil implicated many biochemical pathways, with corresponding adverse outcomes on organ development and physiological performance. Terrestrial organisms differ in their mechanisms of exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their physiological challenges, and may reveal either distinct effects of oil on biochemical pathways or the generality of the responses to oil shown in marine species. Using a cross-species hybridization microarray approach, we investigated the transcriptomic response in the liver of Seaside Sparrows (Ammospiza maritima) exposed to DWH oil compared with birds from a control site. Our analysis identified 295 genes differentially expressed between birds exposed to oil and controls. Gene ontology (GO) and canonical pathway analysis suggested that the identified genes were involved in a coordinated response that promoted hepatocellular proliferation and liver regeneration while inhibiting apoptosis, necrosis, and liver steatosis. Exposure to oil also altered the expression of genes regulating energy homeostasis, including carbohydrate metabolism and gluconeogenesis, and the biosynthesis, transport and metabolism of lipids. These results provide a molecular mechanism for the long-standing observation of hepatic hypertrophy and altered lipid biosynthesis and transport in birds exposed to crude oil. Several of the activated pathways and pathological outcomes shown here overlap with the ones altered in fish species upon exposure to oil. Overall, our study shows that the path of oil contamination from the marine system into salt marshes can lead to similar responses in terrestrial birds to those described in marine organisms, suggesting similar adverse outcomes and shared machinery for detoxification.

Ionizing radiation, antioxidant response and oxidative damage: A meta-analysis.

One mechanism proposed as a link between exposure to ionizing radiation and detrimental effects on organisms is oxidative damage. To test this hypothesis, we surveyed the scientific literature on the effects of chronic low-dose ionizing radiation (LDIR) on antioxidant responses and oxidative damage. We found 40 publications and 212 effect sizes for antioxidant responses and 288 effect sizes for effects of oxidative damage. We performed a meta-analysis of signed and unsigned effect sizes. We found large unsigned effects for both categories (0.918 for oxidative damage; 0.973 for antioxidant response). Mean signed effect size weighted by sample size was 0.276 for oxidative damage and -0.350 for antioxidant defenses, with significant heterogeneity among effects for both categories, implying that ionizing radiation caused small to intermediate increases in oxidative damage and small to intermediate decreases in antioxidant defenses. Our estimates are robust, as shown by very high fail-safe numbers. Species, biological matrix (tissue, blood, sperm) and age predicted the magnitude of effects for oxidative damage as well as antioxidant response. Meta-regression models showed that effect sizes for oxidative damage varied among species and age classes, while effect sizes for antioxidant responses varied among species and biological matrices. Our results are consistent with the description of mechanisms underlying pathological effects of chronic exposure to LDIR. Our results also highlight the importance of resistance to oxidative stress as one possible mechanism associated with variation in species responses to LDIR-contaminated areas.

Abundance and genetic damage of barn swallows from Fukushima.

A number of studies have assessed or modeled the distribution of the radionuclides released by the accident at the Fukushima-Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP). Few studies however have investigated its consequences for the local biota. We tested whether exposure of barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) nestlings to low dose ionizing radiation increased genetic damage to their peripheral erythrocytes. We estimated external radiation exposure by using thermoluminescent dosimeters, and by measuring radioactivity of the nest material. We then assessed DNA damage by means of the neutral comet assay. In addition, we conducted standard point-count censuses of barn swallows across environmental radiation levels, and estimated their abundance and local age ratio. Radioactivity of nest samples was in the range 479-143,349 Bq kg(-1), while external exposure varied between 0.15 and 4.9 mGy. Exposure to radioactive contamination did not correlate with higher genetic damage in nestlings. However, at higher levels of radioactive contamination the number of barn swallows declined and the fraction of juveniles decreased, indicating lower survival and lower reproduction and/or fledging rate. Thus, genetic damage to nestlings does not explain the decline of barn swallows in contaminated areas, and a proximate mechanism for the demographic effects documented here remains to be clarified.

Early maternal, genetic and environmental components of antioxidant protection, morphology and immunity of yellow-legged gull (Larus michahellis) chicks.

Maternal effects mediated by egg quality are important sources of offspring phenotypic variation and can influence the course of evolutionary processes. Mothers allocate to the eggs diverse antioxidants that protect the embryo from oxidative stress. In the yellow-legged gull (Larus michahellis), yolk antioxidant capacity varied markedly among clutches and declined considerably with egg laying date. Analysis of bioptic yolk samples from clutches that were subsequently partially cross-fostered revealed a positive effect of yolk antioxidant capacity on embryonic development and chick growth, but not on immunity and begging behaviour, while controlling for parentage and common environment effects. Chick plasma antioxidant capacity varied according to rearing environment, after statistically partitioning out maternal influences mediated by egg quality. Thus, the results of this study indicate that egg antioxidants are important mediators of maternal effects also in wild bird populations, especially during the critical early post-hatching phase.