36 years after catastrophic event, Chernobyl nuclear disaster spawns 'mutant frogs'

36 years since a catastrophic meltdown at the Chernobyl power plant unleashed one of the world's worst nuclear disasters, now "mutant" black frogs are spawning in the vicinity.

The species of frog found in this area, known as the Eastern tree frogs (Hyla Orientalis), typically have bright green skin but now many have sprung up with dark or pigmented skin.

A study published in Evolutionary Applications details the research surrounding these frogs' evolution. Scientists believe that darker skin might help the frogs survive in the exclusion zone.

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Germán Orizaola a researcher at the Spain University of Oviedoand a co-author of the study, said that his team became aware of the frogs on their first night in Chernobyl.

"We know that melanin protects from the damage caused by different types of radiation, from UV to ionizing radiation – the kind at Chernobyl," Daily Mail quotesOrizaola as saying.

Orizaola and his co-authorPablo Burracocollected more than 200 male frog specimens from about a dozen different breeding ponds with varying levels of radiation between 2017 and 2019, reports TWC.

The frogs in the exclusion zone which spans 10,000 square miles around ground zero were much darker than those outside it.

However, the most radioactive locations today did not correlate with the darkest frog populations. Although darker frogs were most prominent in the areas that were worst affected at the time of the catastrophe.

^{Illustration: Study | (a) Ionizing radiation and melanism in Chornobyl tree frogs.Dorsal skin luminance in eastern tree frog (Hyla orientalis) males inhabiting across a gradient of radiation inside (CEZ) or outside the Chornobyl exclusion zone (outside CEZ). (b) Range of dorsal skin luminance in H. orientalis males (from left to right: Luminance values of 5, 20, 30, 40 and 60).}

Darker frogs would have had a higher chance of surviving the 1986 calamity, which means that natural selection of the fittest might've helped them thrive, and dominate the exclusion zone.

"Under this scenario, they should have survived better and reproduced better than the normal green frogs."

"Over time – 10 to 12 generations of frogs have passed since the accident – this would have resulted in these black frogs being predominant within the exclusion zone."

The researchers added that further study is needed to "determine the underlying mechanisms and evolutionary consequences of the patterns found here".

(With inputs from agencies)

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