Back to Search Start Over

Tolerance of High Oral Doses of Nonradioactive and Radioactive Caesium Chloride in the Pale Grass Blue Butterfly Zizeeria maha

Authors :
Raj D. Gurung
Wataru Taira
Ko Sakauchi
Masaki Iwata
Atsuki Hiyama
Joji M. Otaki
Source :
Insects, Vol 10, Iss 9, p 290 (2019)
Publication Year :
2019
Publisher :
MDPI AG, 2019.

Abstract

The biological effects of the Fukushima nuclear accident have been examined in the pale grass blue butterfly, Zizeeria maha (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae). In previous internal exposure experiments, larvae were given field-collected contaminated host plant leaves that contained up to 43.5 kBq/kg (leaf) of radioactive caesium. Larvae ingested up to 480 kBq/kg (larva), resulting in high mortality and abnormality rates. However, these results need to be compared with the toxicological data of caesium. Here, we examined the toxicity of both nonradioactive and radioactive caesium chloride on the pale grass blue butterfly. Larvae were fed a caesium-containing artificial diet, ingesting up to 149 MBq/kg (larva) of radioactive caesium (137Cs) or a much higher amount of nonradioactive caesium. We examined the pupation rate, eclosion rate, survival rate up to the adult stage, and the forewing size. In contrast to previous internal exposure experiments using field-collected contaminated leaves, we could not detect any effect. We conclude that the butterfly is tolerant to ionising radiation from 137Cs in the range tested but is vulnerable to radioactive contamination in the field. These results suggest that the biological effects in the field may be mediated through ecological systems and cannot be estimated solely based on radiation doses.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
20754450 and 10090290
Volume :
10
Issue :
9
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Insects
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.5b15c81bb9814dbcaa193698f6ef74d5
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/insects10090290