Wildlife is Abundant in Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, Confirms New Study

A new study published in the journal Food Webs provides additional evidence that wildlife is abundant in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, a large area of contamination around the Chernobyl nuclear plant.

Ten mammalian and five bird species were documented scavenging fish carcasses in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone including Eurasian otters (Lutra lutra). Image credit: Schlichting et al, doi: 10.1016/j.fooweb.2018.e00107.

Ten mammalian and five bird species were documented scavenging fish carcasses in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone including Eurasian otters (Lutra lutra). Image credit: Schlichting et al, doi: 10.1016/j.fooweb.2018.e00107.

University of Georgia’s Dr. James Beasley and co-authors used motion activated cameras to monitor experimentally placed fish carcasses to quantify the composition and efficiency of scavengers of canal and river communities in the Polesie State Radiation Ecological Reserve (PSRER) portion of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.

The researchers conducted 83 trials that were scavenged by 10 mammalian and 5 bird species.

Three mouse species — striped field mouse (Apodemus agrarius), yellow necked mouse (Apodemus flavicollis) and harvest mouse (Micromys minutus) — and two bird species — Eurasian jays (Garrulus glandarius) and common magpies (Pica pica) — were among the most common scavengers, although they rarely completely consumed a carcass.

Larger scavengers, including raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes procyonoides), American mink (Neovison vison), Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra), wolves (Canis lupus), raven (Corvus corax), and white-tailed eagle (Haliarrtus albicilla), completely consumed carcasses when found.

“These animals were photographed while scavenging fish carcasses placed on the shoreline of rivers and canals in the PSRER,” Dr. Beasley said.

“We’ve seen evidence of a diversity of wildlife in the area through our previous research, but this is the first time that we’ve seen white-tailed eagles, American mink and river otter on our cameras.”

Dr. Beasley is referring to a 2015 study that provided the first evidence that wildlife exists in abundance in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.

“In the current study, fish carcasses were placed at the edge of open waters at the Pripyat River and in nearby irrigation canals, mimicking the natural activity that occurs when currents transport dead fish carcasses to the shore,” said Dr. Peter Schlichting, a postdoctoral research associate at Arizona State University.

The results show that 98% of the fish carcasses were consumed within one week by a multitude of scavengers.

“This is a high rate of scavenging, and given that all our carcasses were consumed by terrestrial or semi-aquatic species, it verifies that the movement of nutritional resources between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems occurs more frequently than often recognized,” Dr. Beasley said.

“We tend to think of fish and other aquatic animals as staying in the aquatic ecosystem. This research shows us that if a reasonable proportion of dead fish make it to shore, there is an entire group of terrestrial and semi-aquatic species that transfer those aquatic nutrients to the terrestrial landscape.”

The scientists also compared scavenger activity at the river with scavenger activity at the canals, evaluating parameters including the percent of carcasses consumed and how quickly they were consumed, the number of species that showed up, and how frequently each species was detected.

Scavenger efficiency was higher in the river because the limited shoreline cover increased the visibility of the fish carcasses, making them easier to find. But, as the team predicted, richness was higher in the canals.

“Many former agricultural areas within the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone were irrigated through the use of these small canals,” Dr. Beasley said.

“Most of them still hold water, but they are overgrown with vegetation that provides cover for wildlife, so they are used by a wider array of species.”

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Peter E. Schlichting et al. 2019. Efficiency and composition of vertebrate scavengers at the land-water interface in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. Food Webs 18: e00107; doi: 10.1016/j.fooweb.2018.e00107

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