woodlice

[helghast]

is it true that woodlice can survive a nuke exposion? i don't think so but people think its true

[9087]

Apparently so, as can cockroaches. They must feed on each other following the event 'cos there'd be sod all else to eat!

[New Forester]

Woodlice are surprisingly tough, but the answer is probably "no".

 

It depends what you really mean.  How near are they?  What kind of nuke?  Survive the plasma, the blast, the white radiation or the fallout?  Survive how long?  Is this a nuclear test or a MAD all-out war?

 

Sorry, that's as much thinking of such things as I can manage for the moment.  Let's hope we never need to know.

[New Forester]

Another short burst on this one...

 

In the event of a large nuclear madness, humans will generally have a tough time, because our needs can be met in only two ways -- from a sophisticated industrial society, or by farming.  Both of these would be bugg*red (sorry AB, but this subject deserves strong words).

 

Most wildlife depends upon intact natural habitats.  Most of these would also be in serious trouble, so a large proportion of the wild would be wiped out.

 

However, some species are generalists, and can survive in the absence of natural habitats.  These would be more robust.  Some will also happen to be more physiologically resistant to radiation damage.

 

Dry, sheltered places would have less radiation, because the fallout would come as dust or rain.  Woodlice and any other small animals which can live in such places would survive here and there.  Longer-lived animals and plants would suffer worst, because they have more chance of getting radiation-induced cancers during their lifetimes.

 

So I think the landscape near a blast would be bare and lifeless, with only the toughest wildlife left -- weeds, crows, rats, foxes etc.  In fact, the effect might be rather like (but much worse than) the devastation which industrial agriculture has caused -- our countryside may look green, but it's largely empty.

 

Ugh, that's definitely enough now.