Abstract

Have you ever heard of Chernobyl? It was a nuclear power plant that released large amounts of radiation into the environment after an accident. While the people nearby left the area, the wildlife remained. Many plants and animals died because of the high levels of radiation. But others, such as tree frogs, adapted. 

We collected tree frogs from different areas surrounding the Chernobyl power plant. We analyzed their skin coloration. We found that the frogs closer to the power plant had darker skin coloration. That’s because they have higher levels of melanin. Melanin is known to protect organisms from radiation. We think that darker colored frogs better survived the higher levels of radiation closer to the power plant.