11/24/2023 0 Comments Biological unity definitionHow does biomagnification work?īiomagnification is said to occur when the concentration of a contaminant or pollutant increases from one link in the food chain to another. This process is called biodilution and occurs when a pollutant gets smaller in concentration as it progressively moves up a food web. However, the opposite of biological magnification occurs to all trophic levels in an ecosystem. Therefore, bioaccumulation and bioconcentration is a phenomenon that occurs within the organism, while biomagnification happens across trophic levels (food chain). Moreso, bioconcentration also called biological concentration is the bioaccumulation process whereby the concentration of a substance in an organism becomes higher than the concentration of the substance in the environment around the organism. It is the concentration increase of the contaminant or substance in certain tissues of the organisms.īioaccumulation is a result of the absorption of the substance from food or the environment. The process of bioaccumulation specifically occurs within a particular trophic level. These two processes are however related but there is a distinct difference between them and bioconcentration as well. The process of biomagnification is sometimes interchangeably used with bioaccumulation. Also, due to the contaminant being insoluble in water, there can be a low or non-existent rate of internal degradation or excretion of the contaminant. A contaminant happens to be persistent when it cannot be broken down by environmental processes.įood chain energetics involves the increase in the concentration of the contaminant as it progressively moves up a food chain. As organisms take in contaminated air, water, or food, these substances that increase in concentration as they are slowly metabolized or excreted are called bioaccumulants.īiological magnification can occur due to the persistence of these substances, food chain energetics, or a low rate of degradation of the substance. In the aquatic ecosystem, for instance, these substances are incorporated into the diet of aquatic organisms like zooplankton, which are in turn eaten probably by fish, which can be preyed on by bigger fish, large birds, animals, or humans.ĭue to the interconnectivity of the food chain, these contaminants become increasingly concentrated in the tissues or internal organs of organisms as they move up the food chain. However, biological magnification is a process that involves certain contaminants such as heavy metals or pesticides finding their way into water bodies and then move up the food chain in progressively greater concentrations. In the process of biomagnification, predators accumulate more toxins than their prey. These contaminants or toxins build up in the fat and tissue of the organisms. Typical examples of bioaccumulating chlorinated hydrocarbons are a class of industrial chemicals known as PCBs as well as the insecticides DDT and dieldrin.Īs the trophic level increases across a food chain, the number of contaminant accumulation increases. Also, they cannot be easily broken down by ultraviolet radiation or other inorganic processes. This is because the metabolism of organisms cannot easily break them down into simpler compounds. Several of the chlorinated hydrocarbons are very persistent in the environment. However, in high enough concentrations, these substances can cause serious health issues for marine fauna and terrestrial animals as well as humans. These substances are extremely insoluble in water but are very soluble in organic solvents as well as animal fats and plant oils (known as lipids). Some of these chemicals that can be biomagnified are substances such as selenium, mercury, nickel, organic compounds, and chlorinated hydrocarbons (or organochlorines). Hence, this accumulation up the trophic levels is referred to as biomagnification and the accumulation within the organism is bioaccumulation. Even though some of these chemicals exist in the environment at low concentrations, they may be selectively accumulated by organisms to much higher concentrations. In the environment, organisms are exposed to several chemicals. It is basically the buildup of toxins or contaminants in the food chain. Biological magnification is, however, the concentration of a specific substance (such as contaminants, pollutants, or toxins) being magnified within an organism at each increasing trophic level in a food chain. Another name for biomagnification is biological magnification or bioamplification.
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