Microorganisms associated with feathers of barn swallows in radioactively contaminated areas around chernobyl.

• Title: Microorganisms associated with feathers of barn swallows in radioactively contaminated areas around chernobyl.

Author: Czirják, Gábor Arpád / Møller, Anders Pape / Mousseau, Timothy A / Heeb, Philipp

Reference: Microbial ecology, 60 (2), p.373-380, Aug 2010

doi: 10.1007/s00248-010-9716-4

Keywords:

Abstract: The Chernobyl catastrophe provides a rare opportunity to study the ecological and evolutionary consequences of low-level, environmental radiation on living organisms. Despite some recent studies about negative effects of environmental radiation on macroorganisms, there is little knowledge about the effect of radioactive contamination on diversity and abundance of microorganisms. We examined abundance patterns of total cultivable bacteria and fungi and the abundance of feather-degrading bacterial subset present on feathers of barn swallows (Hirundo rustica), a colonial migratory passerine, around Chernobyl in relation to levels of ground level environmental radiation.

URL: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20640571?dopt=Abstract