IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Skuterud, L. | |
| Investigation of selected natural and anthropogenic radionuclids in reindeer and lynx | |
| 2005 Full Book | |
The present thesis investigates a range of dietary, physiological and environmental factors influencing transfer and long-term behaviour of radionuclides in reindeer and lynx. Feeding experiments were designed to provide details on factors related to absorption, retention and secretion of radionuclides in reindeer, while concentrations and time trends of radionuclides in the environment were studied in two reindeer herding districts during the period 2000 - 2003. Data on 137Cs in reindeer from 1986 onwards and samples of lynx were obtained from national archives. The study of 137Cs in muscle samples of 747 lynxes killed in Norway from the 1986 Chernobyl accident up to the year 2001 showed that a model with 137Cs deposition density, the year lynxes were killed, age, and extent of reindeer grazing area in the lynxes' home ranges could account for 50 % of the variability in observed 137Cs concentrations. The analyses were equivocal regarding the lynxes' specialization in prey species. Further work on the possible use of radiocaesium as a tracer of reindeer predation by lynxes require experimental data on Cs retention in lynx and better estimates of deposition density in the lynxes' home ranges. The calculated absorbed doses to reindeer from both anthropogenic and natural nuclides suggested that some of the most exposed individuals received dose rates approaching 1 mGy d-1 after the Chernobyl fallout. No effects on morbidity, mortality or reproductive capacity of reindeer would be expected from these doses. Only the lynxes with the highest radiocaesium concentrations received doses comparable to those received by reindeer. The assessment of doses to humans from the studied radionuclides showed that 137Cs continues to be the most important contributor to ingestion doses by South Saamis. The time trend in 137Cs concentrations in the studied reindeer herding districts suggests that ingestion doses by persons with average Saami consumption rates of reindeer meat will continue to exceed the 1990 recommendation by the International Commission on Radiological Protection for many years to come, if countermeasures are not applied. |
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