The biological impacts of the Fukushima nuclear accident on
the pale grass blue butterfly
The collapse of the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant
caused a massive release of radioactive materials to the environment. A prompt and
reliable system for evaluating the biological impacts of this accident on
animals has not been available. Here we show that the accident caused
physiological and genetic damage to the pale grass blue Zizeeria maha, a common
lycaenid butterfly in Japan. We collected the first-voltine adults in the
Fukushima area in May 2011, some of which showed relatively mild abnormalities.
The F1 offspring from the first-voltine females showed more severe
abnormalities, which were inherited by the F2 generation.