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Adapting to Survive a Nuclear Disaster
GERMÁN ORIZAOLA/PABLO BURRACO
COLOR CHANGE: Frogs living in a radioactive zone have gotten darker over time.
JIM MCMAHON/MAPMAN ®
On April 26, 1986, the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine exploded. The blast contaminated the surrounding area with radiation. Exposure to these high-energy particles or waves is harmful to most organisms. But one population of Eastern tree frogs living near the plant has a unique trait that may help them survive.
EFREM LUKATSKY/AP IMAGES
ABANDONED CITY: Chernobyl, Ukraine, site of the 1986 nuclear disaster—one of the worst in history
Eastern tree frogs are usually bright green. But scientists recently discovered darker green and black frogs living in Chernobyl’s radioactive zone. The animals have extra melanin—a dark-colored pigment—in their skin. It soaks up and scatters the radiation’s energy, which could protect the frogs from exposure.
This discovery is evidence of natural selection—the process by which organisms adapt over time, says Pablo Burraco. He’s a biologist at the Doñana Biological Station in Spain who led the study. Frogs born with more melanin had a better chance of surviving and passed this trait on to future generations.