Mutation load in Drosophila (fruit flies) following the bombs on Bikini Islands

["Bjorn Cedervall" <bcradsafers@HOTMAIL.COM>]

I wonder if anyone has access to and could comment the following work:



WS Stone and FD Wilson, Genetic Studies of irradiated natural populations of 

Drosophila. IV. 1958 tests. Univ. Texas Publications 5914:223-233.



The graph I have appeared in another publication - Grosch and Hopwood, 

Biological Effects of Radiations  (1979) - it is about three bombs tested 

the years 1954, 1956 and 1958.

It would be interesting to know there was any estimation of the doses (or 

just Drosophila flying around freely without any information with regard to 

time and space during the explosions) for the flies "jumping" from an 

equilibrium level of mutations of "1" to about "3.3".



In addition any info regarding the "materials and methods" would also be of 

interest (distance, method of collection). The induced mutations in the 

flies seem to go down to  an equilibrium level in less than about four years 

(140-160 generations). From the graph it is clear that the bomb explosions 

were at different places (two later peaks are about fallout - not direct 

radiation).



Interesting would also be information relating to the biology (average 

number of eggs, estimated total population of the flies - Drosophila 

ananassae - are they in genetic contact with populations on other islands? 

What was the estimated size of the population on the Bikini Islands?)



Some of these questions may not have answers but it is always interesting to 

see how much of population dynamics can be learned from such "experiments".



My personal initiative only,



Bjorn Cedervall    bcradsafers@hotmail.com   or   

bjorn.cedervall@radfys.ki.se



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