Refers to the process whereby certain substances such as pesticides or heavy metals move up the food chain, work their way into rivers or lakes, and are eaten by aquatic organisms such as fish, which in turn are eaten by large birds, animals or humans. The substances become concentrated in tissues or internal organs as they move up the chain.
A trophic process in which retained substances become more concentrated with each link in the food chain. biological species A population or group of populations whose members have the potential to interbreed. biomass[Gk. bios, life] The dry weight of organic matter comprising a group of organisms in a particular habitat.
The increase in the concentration of a heavy metal (i.e., mercury) or organic contaminants (i.e., chlorinated hydrocarbons-CBCs) in organisms as a result of their consumption with in a food chain/web.
The process of exposing organisms high on the food chain to potentially dangerous levels of persistent toxins.
The concentration of certain substances up a food chain. A very important mechanism in concentrating pesticides and heavy metals in organisms such as fish.
The process by which substances such as pesticides or heavy metals move up the food chain. Once introduced into the ecosystem, they are eaten by small organisms that in turn are eaten by larger animals and, eventually, may be eaten by humans. The substances bioaccumulate, that is, as they move up the food chain they become concentrated in animal tissues or internal organs.
Biological magnification is the phenomenon in which toxins (poisons) are more and more concentrated in living organisms that are higher up in trophic levels of the food web. For example, if a small amount of toxins is in plants, the animal that eat those plants have a higher concentration of the toxins, and the meat-eaters that eat those plant-eaters have even higher levels of the toxin. The toxins are from pesticides (bug killing chemicals), herbicides (weed-killing chemicals) and waste materials.
