Ionizing radiation and melanism in Chornobyl tree frogs - PMC

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Evol Appl<br>. 2022 Sep 7;15(9):1469–1479. doi: 10.1111/eva.13476

Ionizing radiation and melanism in Chornobyl tree frogs

Pablo Burraco<br>Pablo Burraco

Animal Ecology, Department of Ecology and Genetics, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden

Doñana Biological Station (CSIC), Seville, Spain

School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK

Find articles by Pablo Burraco

1,2,3,✉, Germán Orizaola<br>Germán Orizaola

Animal Ecology, Department of Ecology and Genetics, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden

IMIB‐Biodiversity Research Institute (Univ. Oviedo‐CSIC‐Princip. Asturias), University of Oviedo, Mieres, Asturias, Spain

Zoology Unit, Department of Biology of Organisms and Systems, University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Asturias, Spain

Find articles by Germán Orizaola

1,4,5

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Animal Ecology, Department of Ecology and Genetics, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden

Doñana Biological Station (CSIC), Seville, Spain

School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK

IMIB‐Biodiversity Research Institute (Univ. Oviedo‐CSIC‐Princip. Asturias), University of Oviedo, Mieres, Asturias, Spain

Zoology Unit, Department of Biology of Organisms and Systems, University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Asturias, Spain

Correspondence<br>Pablo Burraco, Doñana Biological Station (CSIC), 41092 Seville, Spain.<br>Email: burraco@ebd.csic.es

✉Corresponding author.

Revised 2022 Aug 19; Received 2022 Apr 21; Accepted 2022 Aug 21; Collection date 2022 Sep.

© 2022 The Authors. Evolutionary Applications published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

This is an open access article under the terms of the http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

PMC Copyright notice

PMCID: PMC9488684  PMID: 36187188

Abstract

Human actions are altering ecosystems worldwide. Among human‐released pollutants, ionizing radiation arises as a rare but potentially devastating threat to natural systems. The Chornobyl accident (1986) represents the largest release of radioactive material to the environment. Our aim was to examine how exposure to radiation from the Chornobyl accident influences dorsal skin coloration of Eastern tree frog (Hyla orientalis) males sampled across a wide gradient of radioactive contamination in northern Ukraine. We assessed the relationship between skin frog coloration (which can act as a protective mechanism against ionizing radiation), radiation conditions and oxidative stress levels. Skin coloration was darker in localities closest to areas with high radiation levels at the time of the accident, whereas current radiation levels seemed not to influence skin coloration in Chornobyl tree frogs. Tree frogs living within the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone had a remarkably darker dorsal skin coloration than frogs from outside the Zone. The maintenance of dark skin coloration was not linked to physiological costs in terms of frog body condition or oxidative status, and we did not detect short‐term changes in frog coloration. Dark coloration is known to protect against different sources of radiation by neutralizing free radicals and reducing DNA damage, and, particularly melanin pigmentation has been proposed as a buffering mechanism against ionizing radiation. Our results suggest that exposure to high levels of ionizing radiation, likely at the time of the accident, may have been selected for darker coloration in Chornobyl tree frogs. Further studies are needed to determine the underlying mechanisms and evolutionary consequences of the patterns found here.

Keywords: animal colouration, Chernobyl, environmental pollution, evolutionary physiology, melanism, oxidative stress, radioactivity

1. INTRODUCTION

Habitat destruction, climate change and pollution are key factors damaging natural systems nowadays (Rands et al., 2010). Pollutants, in particular, are widespread in nature and represent one of the more powerful forces of ecological and evolutionary change (Palumbi, 2001; Spurgeon et al., 2020)....