Chronic exposure to gamma radiation of wild populations of meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus)

Free-ranging, wild meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus) were exposed to gamma radiation from a 137Cs irradiator in a series of experiments conducted on six 1-ha meadows within a mixed deciduous forest in Manitoba, Canada. Over a period of 1–1.5 years in each of three experiments, vole populations were monitored with capture-mark-release techniques at nominal exposure rates of 200×, 9000× and 40,000× background. No effects on population or individual characteristics were detected up to the highest exposure rate (81 mGy/d). At this level, third generation voles were monitored up to a lifetime dose of about 5.7 Gy, at a measured dose rate of 44 mGy/d. Smaller numbers of overwintered animals survived and reproduced normally at doses up to 10 Gy. These results are discussed in terms of low-LET, external chronic radiation effects on rodents in the laboratory and the field, relative to current views on appropriate benchmarks for the protection of biota.