Pacific bluefin tuna transport Fukushima-derived radionuclides from Japan to California

The Fukushima Dai-ichi release of radionuclides into ocean waters caused significant local and global concern regarding the spread of radioactive material. We report unequivocal evidence that Pacific bluefin tuna, Thunnus orientalis , transported Fukushima-derived radionuclides across the entire Nor...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 2012-06, Vol.109 (24), p.9483-9486
Main Authors: Madigan, Daniel J, Baumann, Zofia, Fisher, Nicholas S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal migration
Animal migration behavior
Animals
Biological Sciences
California
cesium
Cesium Radioisotopes - metabolism
ecoregions
Japan
Marine biology
Marine ecosystems
Marine fishes
migratory behavior
Muscle tissues
Nonnative species
Nuclear power plants
Oceans
Radioactive decay
Radioactive materials
Radionuclides
Sea water
Surface water
Thunnus orientalis
Tuna
Water Pollutants, Radioactive - metabolism
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The Fukushima Dai-ichi release of radionuclides into ocean waters caused significant local and global concern regarding the spread of radioactive material. We report unequivocal evidence that Pacific bluefin tuna, Thunnus orientalis , transported Fukushima-derived radionuclides across the entire North Pacific Ocean. We measured γ-emitting radionuclides in California-caught tunas and found ¹³⁴Cs (4.0 ± 1.4 Bq kg ⁻¹) and elevated ¹³⁷Cs (6.3 ± 1.5 Bq kg ⁻¹) in 15 Pacific bluefin tuna sampled in August 2011. We found no ¹³⁴Cs and background concentrations (∼1 Bq kg ⁻¹) of ¹³⁷Cs in pre-Fukushima bluefin and post-Fukushima yellowfin tunas, ruling out elevated radiocesium uptake before 2011 or in California waters post-Fukushima. These findings indicate that Pacific bluefin tuna can rapidly transport radionuclides from a point source in Japan to distant ecoregions and demonstrate the importance of migratory animals as transport vectors of radionuclides. Other large, highly migratory marine animals make extensive use of waters around Japan, and these animals may also be transport vectors of Fukushima-derived radionuclides to distant regions of the North and South Pacific Oceans. These results reveal tools to trace migration origin (using the presence of ¹³⁴Cs) and potentially migration timing (using ¹³⁴Cs: ¹³⁷Cs ratios) in highly migratory marine species in the Pacific Ocean.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.1204859109