In addition to effects on individual species, biological accumulation through the food web can negatively affect some species—particularly those at higher trophic levels and those depending on strongly affected food items. Bioaccumulation poses a risk to affected species because
it exacerbates exposure to elevated radiation levels, and hence, leads to increased chances of physiological or morphological alterations. For example, can radiation levels in top predators remain elevated for a long time even when species at lower trophic levels show negligible radiation levels, as demonstrated for the Trench (Tinca tinca) in the Kiev Reservoir (Koulikov 1996).
Once an area densely populated by humans, the Chernobyl region was immediately evacuated after the nuclear accident and was declared an exclusion zone. This caused major land-use changes. Vast areas of former farmland were abandoned (Hostert et al. 2011), vegetation spread across former urban areas (Gusev 2004), and populations of many wildlife species have increased
in response. For example, rare birds like the common crane and eagle owl increased in numbers. In contrast, species bound to farming landscapes, like the White Stork, stopped breeding (Gashchak 2002).