RAD Effects on the Ocean

Bioaccumulation is the effect of radiation or another toxin working its way up the food chain. You may have heard of the dangers of mercury being absorbed and retained by the body, accumulation of radiation is very similar to this process.  Sharks, dolphins and whales that reside near the top consume large quantities of fish. This causes the radiation to become more condensed within a single animal. Radiation can cause the deaths of many of these animals that consume contaminated fish. Humans that consume fish have the same risk when consuming contaminated fish.

In a recent example of bio-accumulation; massive die-offs of starfish have raised concerns about the health of the Pacific Ocean. It is unclear to researchers whether the cause is related to disease or is the result of radiation accumulating in starfish from Fukushima. The illness causes starfish to experience cell death, which kills the organism by melting it away.

Despite their docile appearance, starfish are one of the top predators in the ocean. They are a keystone in the food chain, feeding on mussels and making space for many other species. If starfish were to have fed on mussels contaminated by radiation, the radiation would have built up in their bodies and caused them to die slowly. With starfish numbers reduced, mussels will start to crowd out other species. The starfish die-off will have a cascading affect on the entire ecosystem. The effect this could have on the ecosystem is unknown.

Other species like seals that feed on fish could also be suffering the effects of Fukushima radiation. Seals in Alaska have shown signs of radiation poisoning. The seals we found to have “lethargy, no new hair growth and skin lesions,” which are consistent with symptoms of radiation poisoning. Predators like seals are vulnerable to environmental exposure and radiation concentrating in their bodies from their food. It is likely that the seals swam through contaminated water and ate fish near the coast of Japan, or rested on ice contaminated by the radiation.

The reasons for the massive outbreaks of disease are still up for speculation but it is clear that something in the environment has gone wrong. An imbalance in the ecosystem is affecting species in the Pacific Ocean. The die-offs of major predators could have wide ranging effects on the entire ecosystem, harming other species. More research needs to be done to determine the cause of the disruption.

 

http://enenews.com/npr-west-coast-sea-stars-just-vaporized-its-the-change-of-my-lifetime-that-many-species-that-widespread-i-think-is-just-scary-makes-me-wonder-whats-next-po