Chernobyl Normal, Chernoby Abnormal

Tench fish ( Tinca tinca) scale detail of fish from Russian lakes.
Top: Scale from fish living in a lake distant from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Russia.
Bottom: Scale from fish living in lake near to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Russia.
The rings, called circuli, of a fish scale represent increments of growth; their departure from uniform widths between rings is an indication of variation in growth rate. Thus waters that are polluted, too warm, or too cold, affect the growth rate of the fish and its scales. We notice that the rings of fish living near to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant following the April 26, 1986 disaster are of a different character than those living far away.
Original width 250 um