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https://www.geek.com/news/study-wildlife-thriving-in-fukushima-evacuation-zone-1815556/?source
Nearly a decade after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, wildlife populations are thriving in areas of the prefecture uninhabited by humans.
A camera study by the University of Georgia collected more than 267,000 photos and recorded 20-plus species in various parts of the landscape.
The findings—including wild boar, Japanese hare, macaques, pheasant, fox and its relative the racoon dog—were published Monday in the Journal of Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.
Scientists and laypeople alike are understandably curious about the status of flora and fauna after a nuclear accident like those in Chernobyl and Fukushima.
Well, thanks to a similar camera study in Ukraine last year, UGA has some answers.
“Our results represent the first evidence that numerous species of wildlife are now abundant throughout the Fukushima Evacuation Zone, despite the presence of radiological contamination,” according to UGA wildlife biologist James Beasley, an associate professor at the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory and the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources.
The team identified three research zones, as previously established by the Japanese government after the 2011 accident:
- Highest level of contamination—humans excluded
- Intermediate level of contamination—humans restricted
- Very low (“background” levels of contamination—humans inhabited
For 120 days, cameras captured 46,000-plus images of wild boar from 106 sites.
The creatures, often in conflict with humans, were most frequently photographed in empty areas of Fukushima: More than 26,000 snapshots of the swine came from the uninhabited zone (versus 20,000 in total between the restricted and inhabited regions).
Other species such as racoons, Japanese marten, and monkeys were also seen in higher numbers in the uninhabited and restricted regions.
“This research makes an important contribution because it examines radiological impacts to populations of wildlife, whereas most previous studies have looked for effects to individual animals,” Thomas Hinton, a professor at the Institute of Environmental Radioactivity at Fukushima University, said.
Taking into consideration other variables (distance to road, time of activity [based on cameras’ date/time stamps], vegetation, etc.), the team found that extent of human activity, elevation, and habitat type—not radiation levels—were primary factors in population growth.
The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident—the most severe since 1986’s Chernobyl disaster—was started by the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in March 2011.
Radiation released into the atmosphere forced some 154,000 residents to leave nearby communities and created a 20-kilometer (12.5-mile) evacuation zone around the Fukushima plant.
An ongoing intensive cleanup program to decontaminate affected areas and decommission the plant is estimated to take up to 40 years.
More on Geek.com:
Nearly a decade after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, wildlife populations are thriving in areas of the prefecture uninhabited by humans.
A camera study by the University of Georgia collected more than 267,000 photos and recorded 20-plus species in various parts of the landscape.
The findings—including wild boar, Japanese hare, macaques, pheasant, fox and its relative the racoon dog—were published Monday in the Journal of Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.
Scientists and laypeople alike are understandably curious about the status of flora and fauna after a nuclear accident like those in Chernobyl and Fukushima.
Well, thanks to a similar camera study in Ukraine last year, UGA has some answers.
“Our results represent the first evidence that numerous species of wildlife are now abundant throughout the Fukushima Evacuation Zone, despite the presence of radiological contamination,” according to UGA wildlife biologist James Beasley, an associate professor at the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory and the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources.
The team identified three research zones, as previously established by the Japanese government after the 2011 accident:
- Highest level of contamination—humans excluded
- Intermediate level of contamination—humans restricted
- Very low (“background” levels of contamination—humans inhabited
For 120 days, cameras captured 46,000-plus images of wild boar from 106 sites.
The creatures, often in conflict with humans, were most frequently photographed in empty areas of Fukushima: More than 26,000 snapshots of the swine came from the uninhabited zone (versus 20,000 in total between the restricted and inhabited regions).
Other species such as racoons, Japanese marten, and monkeys were also seen in higher numbers in the uninhabited and restricted regions.
“This research makes an important contribution because it examines radiological impacts to populations of wildlife, whereas most previous studies have looked for effects to individual animals,” Thomas Hinton, a professor at the Institute of Environmental Radioactivity at Fukushima University, said.
Taking into consideration other variables (distance to road, time of activity [based on cameras’ date/time stamps], vegetation, etc.), the team found that extent of human activity, elevation, and habitat type—not radiation levels—were primary factors in population growth.
The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident—the most severe since 1986’s Chernobyl disaster—was started by the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in March 2011.
Radiation released into the atmosphere forced some 154,000 residents to leave nearby communities and created a 20-kilometer (12.5-mile) evacuation zone around the Fukushima plant.
An ongoing intensive cleanup program to decontaminate affected areas and decommission the plant is estimated to take up to 40 years.
More on Geek.com:
- New Snake-Like Bot to Probe Innards of Fukushima Reactor
- Chernobyl Vodka Made in Exclusion Zone Coming Soon
- Google AI Lets Anyone Track Global Wildlife
Comedian George Lopez has responded to Iran’s call to assassinate President Donald J. Trump by saying “We’ll do it for half”.
The 58-year-old comic has now come under fire about the Instagram post about the purported bounty on the President’s head. The bounty all stems from the recent killing of the Iranian General Qassem Soleimani who was targeted by a U.S. airstrike this past Friday.
A eulogist during the Iranian general’s funeral reportedly told the crowd that if each of the country’s 80 million citizens contributed $1 there could be an $80 million-dollar reward for “anyone who brings us [Trump’s] head”
Republican and Conservative commentator’s have been decrying the remarks by the comedian asking that the secret service look into the social post.
“Sick: George Lopez just publicly said he would kill the President of the United States for 40 million dollars,” wrote Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk on Twitter. “Why are Hollywood leftists obsessed with killing the president? Hey, @SecretService—this might be worth looking into.”
Kathy Griffin, a celebrity-comedian, that once posed with a picture of a fake severed Trump head responded to the criticism of Lopez an defended him
“Calm down Trump cult!” Griffin wrote. “[Lopez] is a professional comedian and…OH F*** OFF. THIS JOKE IS HILARIOUS & you all know it.”
Trump ordered the drone strike on Soleimani after saying the U.S. had “very major” and credible intelligence that he was planning to kill American’s residents abroad. Soleimani was in charge of the Quds Force, a unit of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps that specialized in unconventional warfare and military intelligence operations.
“For years, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its ruthless Quds Force under Soleimani’s leadership has targeted, injured and murdered hundreds of American civilians and servicemen,” Trump said, citing recent attacks in Iraq, including “rocket strikes that killed an American and injured four American servicemen very badly, as well as a violent assault on our embassy in Baghdad.”
Check out the terrifying new trailer for Twentieth Century Fox and Marvel Entertainment’s The New Mutants.
An original horror thriller set in an isolated hospital where young mutants are being held for psychiatric monitoring. When strange occurrences begin to take place, both their new mutant abilities and their friendships will be tested as they battle to try and make it out alive.
Directed by Josh Boone and written by Josh Boone & Knate Lee, “The New Mutants” stars: Maisie Williams, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Heaton, Alice Braga, Blu Hunt and Henry Zaga. The film is produced by Simon Kinberg, p.g.a., Karen Rosenfelt, p.g.a. and Lauren Shuler Donner with Stan Lee and Michele Imperato Stabile serving as executive producers.
The post The New Mutants Trailer Unveiled! appeared first on Black Girl Nerds.
Source: Bennett Raglin/BET / Getty
Comedian Gary Owen participated in an episode of “Wife Swap” with actor Michael Ealy, and let’s say, hazel-eyed Ealy might have stolen the attention of Owen’s forever bride.
Owen posted a photo to Instagram hilariously capturing the moment Ealy stole the attention of Gary’s wife, Kenya. In the flick, Kenya can be seen cuddling up to Ealy’s wife, Khatira, looked jokingly less than enthused.
“Not sure why me & @trulykenya agreed to go on wife swap with @themichaelealy & his wife. Clearly Mikes wife isn’t feeling me but my wife is in a fucking trance. #WifeSwap #IHateThatShow#GetSome.”
The couples spent a week in Hawaii where they lived lives as the other person’s spouse. From the looks of these photos, it seems like Kenya spent her week swooning over Ealy–while Ealy’s wife was ready to get home to her own man.
Owen followed up his first Instagram post with another, saying that his wife has been “very quiet” since returning home.
“Hawaii was fun. Spent a week with @lifeandbread on wife swap. Had to return her to @themichaelealy last night. She seemed a little too happy to be back. My wife on the other hand has been very quiet since she came back. #WifeSwap #DoinWhatIDo #GetSome”
It’s clearly all jokes, given the fact that Owen and Kenya have been married since 2003. They have three kids.