Biomagnification When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe. John Muir

Toxins in the environment:. 1. Pesticides (DDT. PCB); 2 Toxins in the environment: 1. Pesticides (DDT. PCB); 2. Industrial chemicals (methyl mercury)… Bioaccumulation: A build up of fat soluble toxins in the tissues of organisms. Biomagnification: The increase in concentration of toxins in consumers at higher trophic levels in the food chain. 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5P-UoKLxlA (2min)

Biomagnification Through the Food Chain

Pyramid of biomass 4

Food Chain Example Pyramid of Numbers Plant  Insect  small fish  big fish  Human http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9vM7y8uENo&feature=player_detailpage (3min) Pyramid of Numbers

Food Chain What would happen if each piece of plant material has one microscopic drop of the neurotoxin methyl mercury.

Methyl Mercury Methyl mercury cause the neural disorder Minamata disease. Symptoms numbness in limbs & lips, difficulty hearing & seeing, shaking (tremors) in arms & legs, difficulty walking, brain damage & severe birth defects. 1st identified in Minamata, Japan in 1959 Due to the dumping of methyl mercury into Minamata Bay by the Chisso Petrochemical Co. Dumping stopped in 1968 after 2,955 people got the disease – over half died

1970 Minamata disease occurred in Ontario Canada (Grassy Narrow). Dryden Chemical/ Pulp & Paper Co dumped mercury in the local rivers from 1962- 1970. Ordered to stop in 1970 by the Ontario Gov. when people in a number of people got sick from eating local fish. Methyl mercury can enter the environment through: industrial processes. conversion of mercury to methyl mercury through the action of anaerobic organisms burning of mercury containing wastes & fossil fuels, particularly coal. natural sources such as volcanoes, forest fires & weathering of mercury-bearing rocks. 8

Back to the Food Chain One insect eats 25 pieces of plant material, that would mean that each insect would have _______ microscopic drops of methyl mercury in its body.

Food Chain If one small fish needs 10 insects to live, then one fish would have _____ microscopic drops of methyl mercury.

Food Chain One big fish eats 5 small fish to live. So, one big fish would collect a total of _____ microscopic drops of methyl mercury in its body.

Food Chain What about you and me? Lets say we eat 1 big fish a day for 3 days. We would collect total of ______ drops of methyl mercury in our body over the 3 days. This is how biomagnification works!

Food Chain Which organism will be most affected by the toxin methyl mercury? Note: The more methyl mercury in the living organism, the more sick it would get.

Organisms Affected by Biomagnification of DDT Silent In The Morning Organisms Affected by Biomagnification of DDT Silent In The Morning.mp3 Peregrine Falcon Bald Eagle Whooping Crane

DDT interferes with calcium metabolism This causes the thinning eggshells & reduces the number of eggs that survived to hatching. The Peregrine Falcon, Bald Eagle & Whooping Crane became an endangered species during the mid 20th century due to habitat loss & overuse of pesticides such as DDT. Song birds & small mammals were also killed off by DDT (Silent Spring by Rachel Carson http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ipbc-6IvMQI&list=TL2MjhE_kB8w3ChnO4JZJJY_-ehvU0JT-v (11 min) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbtp2B-IFmw (10 min)). DDT had no long-term affect on mosquito populations.

TED TALK ocean ecosystem (16 min) http://i-biology.net/tag/biomagnification/

Horton, in Dr. Seuss’s Horton Hears a Who “We’ve GOT to make noise in greater amounts! So, open your mouth, lad! For every voice counts!” We're not gonna take it-Twisted sister.mp3

The end!