Inter-comparison of population models for the calculation of radiation dose effects on wildlife

An inter-comparison of five models designed to predict the effect of ionizing radiation on populations of non-human wildlife, performed under the IAEA EMRAS II programme, is presented and discussed. A benchmark scenario ‘Population response to chronic irradiation’ was developed in which stable generic populations of mice, hare/rabbit, wolf/wild dog and deer were modelled as subjected to chronic low-LET radiation. From this study, a potential relationship between higher reproduction rates and lower radiation effects at population level can be deduced. The work signals the direction for future investigations to validate and improve the predictive ability of different population dose effects models.