EFFECT OF RADIATIONS ON HABITS OF

BIRDS AND INSECTS

Destroying of Nature by ‘Electrosmog’

Insects, Birds AND others….

Acknowledgement

I would like to express my special thanks of

gratitude to my teacher as well as our principal

for their vital support, guidance and

encouragement without which this project

would not have possible and for giving me the

golden opportunity to do this wonderful project

on the topic “Effect of radiation on habits of

Birds and Insects” which also helped me in

doing a lot of Research and I came to know

about so many new things .

CONTENTS

1. Introduction

2. Electromagnetic fields as prerequisite hazard to insects and birds life

3. About the disappearing birds and insects

4. Effects of radiations on various birds and insects

5. Effect of UV B radiations

6. Conclusion

INTRODUCTIONThere has been an enormous growth in the global communication industry in recent years which has resulted in a dramatic increase in the number of wireless devices. This has led to the mushrooming of supporting infrastructure in the form of cell towers which provide the link to and from the mobile phone. Hence, the birds and insects are being exposed to continuous, low intensity radiations from these towers. The electromagnetic radiations, also known as electro smog cannot be seen, smelt or felt, but have shown ill-effects of radio-frequency electromagnetic field (RF-EMF) on bees, fruit flies, birds and other insects.

The electromagnetic radiations are of two types:

Ionizing radiations: Such as X-rays and gamma rays.

Non-ionizing radiations: Such as electric and magnetic fields, radio waves, radio- frequency band which includes microwaves, infrared, ultraviolet, and visible radiation.

Research shows that Birds, Bees and Butterflies are sensitive to electromagnetic fields. Their behaviour is

disrupted and their immune system is damaged by exposures to this radiation.

All mobile phone towers emit microwave radiation, which is radio frequency radiation (RFR), part of the spectrum of electromagnetic waves. Long-term exposure to low level RFR has damaging effects on the nervous system and immune system of small insects and birds.

Electromagnetic fields as prerequisite hazard to insects and birds life:

Electromagnetic radiation could produce the following effects:

•Effects on reproduction.

•Effects on the circulatory and central nervous system.

•Effects on the bird’s health and well-being (microwave syndrome).

• Indirect effects due to food shortage caused by electromagnetic contamination (death of insects).

Radiation at extremely low levels caused heart attacks and the deaths of some chicken embryos subjected to hypoxic conditions in the laboratory while controls subjected to hypoxia were unaffected.  To date, no independent, third-party field studies have been conducted in North America on impacts of tower electromagnetic radiation on migratory birds.

Electromagnetic fields as prerequisite hazard to insects and birds life…

Electromagnetic radiation could produce the following effects:

Effects on reproduction.

Effects on the circulatory and central nervous system.

Effects on the bird’s health and well-being (microwave syndrome).

Indirect effects due to food shortage caused by electromagnetic contamination (death of insects).

“The electromagnetic field is the perfect secret agent: you cannot see it, you cannot smell it, you cannot hear it, you cannot feel it and its effects are slow but relentless.” “The electromagnetic radiation standards used by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) continue to be based on thermal heating, a criterion now nearly 30 years out of date and inapplicable today.”

The growth of wireless telecommunication technologies causes increased electro smog. Radio frequency fields in the MHz range disrupt insect and bird orientation.Radio frequency noise interferes with the primary process of magneto reception. Existing guidelines do not adequately protect wildlife. Further research in this area is urgent.A Review of 113 studies from original peer-reviewed publications. RF-EMF had a significant effect on birds, insects, other vertebrates, other organisms and plants in 70% of the studies. Development and reproduction of birds and insects are the most strongly affected endpoints.

At the present time, there are reasonable grounds for believing that microwave radiation constitutes an environmental and health hazard….Concerning the exposure to electromagnetic fields, the precautionary principle is needed and should be applied to protect species from environmental non-thermal effects .Controls must be introduced and technology rendered safe to the environment, since this new ubiquitous and invisible pollutant could deplete the efforts devoted to species conservation.”

About the disappearing birds and insects

The disappearance of millions and millions of birds and insects means that something has gone terribly wrong in our environment.

There are many likely contributing factors for this observation, everything from pesticides to urban sprawl and pollution, but there is an extremely pervasive, silent killer out there that hardly anyone is mentioning:

Information-carrying radio waves

These radio waves are coming from your cell phones and other wireless technologies, and they

have increased exponentially in the past three or four years alone.It’s already known that birds living near mobile phone base stations do not breed well. It’s also known that exposure to these frequencies  causes disorientation in migratory birds.

Now, at the end of 2007 there were 4 billion cell phones on the planet. What this means is that even if you are one of the few who decides not to use a cell phone, you are being exposed to information-carrying radio waves at unprecedented levels, and so are all of the birds, bugs and wildlife that live among us. In other words, they’re everywhere.

Effects on:

Bees and Butterflies:

Chryptochromes pigments, found in the eyes, are also affected by EMFs, so that birds could not compensate accurately for the position of

the sun. Without these solar and magnetic landmarks, they would become completely lost.

Crypto chromes are very badly affected by weak oscillating electromagnetic fields that are orders of magnitude weaker than the Earth’s steady magnetic field. This can disrupt both solar and magnetic navigation, which can account for colony collapse disorder in bees and butterflies.

Bees use internal 'clocks' for navigation. Mobile phone radiation can disrupt these biological clocks. Once disrupted in bees, they are no longer able to compensate for the changing position of the sun throughout the day, causing them to fly in the wrong direction, away from the hive…

Studies show that there has been a sharp decline in bee population leading to damage to apiculture industry and also increase in global warming

Bees have been getting sick and disoriented, and whole hives are being deserted

Colony Collapse Disorder or Vanishing Bee Syndrome.

The initial quiet period was characterised in them by a rise in the concentration of biomolecules, including proteins, carbohydrates and lipids, perhaps due to stimulation of the body's mechanism to fight the stressful condition created by the radiation.

In Butterflies It is also possible that the magneto reception system in Monarch butterfly orientation may be suffering from interference from RF, which may be a cause of their population decline.

BIRDS: It is believed that the microwave radiation could distort the earth’s magnetic field that the birds use for navigation. Birds are good candidates as biological indicators for low-intensity electromagnetic radiation; they have thin skulls, their feathers can act as dielectric receptors of microwave radiation, many species use magnetic navigation and possible psychosomatic effects are absent.

Birds, when exposed to low frequency EM radiations, they disorient and fly in different directions.

Microwaves can interfere with their sensors and misguide them while navigating and preying.

A large number of birds like pigeons, sparrows, swans are getting lost due to interference from the mobile phone towers.

Birds near mobile phone base stations do not breed well.

A few scientists claim that radiations can be responsible for the persistence of Bird Flu that has been killing chickens and other fowl and is officially attributed to a common virus with the designation H5N1.

PEACOCK:

Effects on peacocks is much more pronounced as its wings/feather occupy more surface area resulting in large absorption of radiation, and hence, creating more health hazards leading to various ailments and even death.

COCKROACHES: Other animal studies have been done which suggest that RF radiation may be

affecting even vital insect life and populations.Animal navigation in the Earth's magnetic field is disrupted by even weak radio waves .The frequencies in this study are lower than the 'carrier' frequencies used

by mobile phones, but they are nevertheless generated as 'out-of-band' radiation when they are

modulated to carry speech or information. Again, it is to do with cryptochrome which regulates insect's immune systems, so RF makes them more susceptible to pathogens

MOSQUITOE S:Mosquito is posing a threat in all most all part of the world. Although great efforts have been made, currently no effective vaccine and drug available for dengue and chikungunya.

Therefore, mosquito vector control is the only option for prevention of mosquito borne diseases. Conventional larval control methods gained only partial results due to the peculiar ecobiology of the species. Radiation has been used since the 1950s to sterilize the insects, for sterile insect technique to control insect population. This information can be utilized in planning radiation induced control programme for the control of wild Aedes mosquitoes.Morphological deformities due to the effect of γ-radiation at higher doses on both pupae and adults

of Aedes aegypti were noticed after irradiation that indicates the somatic damage of pupae and adults.

ANTS :Ants can be used as bio-indicators to reveal biological effects of electromagnetic waves from some wireless apparatus.

Experiments were conducted on 6 identical colonies of ants, exposing them to RF radiation similar to those surrounding GSM and other communications masts. Under this exposure, no association between food and eitherolfactory or visual cues occurred. After a recovery period, the ants were able to make such an association but never reached the expected score. Such ants having acquired a weaker olfactory or visual score and still undergoing olfactory or visual training were again submitted to RF EMFs.A further study by Cammaerts showed similar catastrophic behaviour changes and colony deterioration. RF severely affected the ants’ social behaviour and physiology.

FLIES:

Exposing fruit flies to radiation for a few minutes per day for the first 6 days of their adult life, in both cases resulted in DNA fragmentation. A further study showed that the ovarian size of exposed flies was significantly smaller, due to destruction of egg chambers by radiation. Continuous and intermittent exposure both brought about a large decrease in the flies reproductive capacity, due to DNA fragmentation.

EFFECT OF UV-B RADIATIONS:

UV-B means ultraviolet B radiation. It is also referred to as medium wave.

UV radiation might affect certain species but also insects and pests, thus counterbalancing the direct negative effects of increased UV radiation. Birds

have very thin skin and thinner corneas compared to mammals. This is why they appear to be more sensitive to ultraviolet light than mammals and reptiles. This is especially a concern for birds that have bare facial skin, such as African greys and macaws.

RESEARCHES IN INDIA

Set a bird song as your mobile ringtone. For that may soon be the only way you get to hear from our winged friends….

Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON) Coimbatore:

Studies at SACON show that the increasing number of cell phone towers in cities is bringing down bird population. Researchesshow there are enough reasons to attribute bird mortality to such radiation. "Cell phones and towers

emit a very low frequency of 900 or 1,800 MHz, called microwaves. Studies have found 185 that they can cause thin skulls of chicks and thin egg shells," says Dhanya R, a researcher at SACON.

Centre for Environment and Vocational Studies of Punjab University:

The team at the Centre for Environment and Vocational Studies of Panjab University, headed by RK Kohli, exposed 50 eggs to EMR for durations of five minutes to 30 minutes. All the 50 embryos were damaged. It's almost like being micro waved.

CONCLUSION First the Honeybees, Now the Birds,

Next … Humans?

It would be natural to assume that the bees insects and the birds are the only living creatures being impacted here. Perhaps because they are smaller, or more sensitive to the radio waves and changes in

frequencies, they are being tragically impacted right now.

But who, or what, will be next?.......

•In addition to the continuous radiation from cell towers, there is radiation from cell phones, wireless phones, computers, laptops, TV towers, FM towers, microwave ovens, etc.

•We are exposed to all these radiations, which are additive in nature. Stricter radiation norms must be enforced by the policy makers across the globe. This does not mean that we have to stop living near these towers.

•Similarly, the solution to avoid excess radiation is to use radiation shield, which absorbs 10% to 50% of radiation depending upon its placement and direction of source of radiation. Multiple units can absorb radiation up to 80% to 90%

•Mobile companies should not be in the denial mode, and accept that radiation causes serious health problems, only then people all over the world will carry out research to come out with solution.

Bibliography

http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in /report-on-possible-impacts-of-communication-towers-on-wildlife-including-birds

http://www.news18.com/news/india/radiation-from-mobile-towers-affecting-wildelife

www.biolmedonline.com/ArticlesImpacts of radio-frequency electromagnetic field (RF-EMF)

zeenews.india.com/tags/insects

timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/pollution/radiation

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.govElectromagnetic Fields/adverse effects.

shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.inill-effects of radio-frequency electromagnetic field on bees, fruit flies

www.newmediaexplorer.org

indianexpress.com/article/cities/radiation-from-cell-tower