Biomagnification Biology

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

Biomagnification Definition: Biomagnification, also known as bioamplification, or biological magnification is the increase in concentration of a substance, such as the pesticide DDT, that occurs in a food chain Beatles - In My Life.mp3

Biomagnification Through the Food Chain

Food Chain Example Let’s look at our food chain to see how biomagnification works:

Food Chain Let’s say, for example, that each piece of plant material has one microscopic drop of methyl mercury.

Sidebar: What is Methyl Mercury? Methylmercury was produced directly and indirectly as part of several industrial processes. Currently there are few human made sources of methylmercury pollution other than the burning of wastes containing inorganic mercury and from the burning of fossil fuels, particularly coal. Additional inorganic mercury is contributed by natural sources such as volcanoes, forest fires and weathering of mercury-bearing rocks. Methylmercury is formed from inorganic mercury by the action of anaerobic organisms that live in aquatic systems including lakes, rivers, wetlands, sediments, soils and the open ocean.

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 Now let’s say that methyl mercury makes living things sick. The more methyl mercury in the living organism, the more sick it would get. From our example above, which organism will be most affected by the toxin methyl mercury?

Other Organisms Affected by Biomagnification Silent In The Morning.mp3

Peregrine Falcon The Peregrine Falcon became an endangered species because of the overuse of pesticides such as DDT during the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. Pesticide biomagnification interfered with reproduction, thinning eggshells and reducing the number of eggs that survived to hatching. The organochlorine build-up in the falcon's fat tissues resulted in less calcium in the eggshells, leading to more fragile eggs. In several parts of the world, such as the eastern USA and Belgium, this species became extinct as a result.

Bald Eagle

Bald Eagle Once a common sight in much of the continent, the Bald Eagle was severely affected in the mid-20th century by a variety of factors, among them thinning of egg shells, attributed to the use of the pesticide DDT. DDT itself was not lethal to the adult bird, but it interfered with the bird's calcium metabolism, making the bird either sterile or unable to lay healthy eggs. Female eagles laid eggs that were too brittle to withstand the weight of a adult.

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

Human Fish Consumption Guidelines What 3 toxic chemicals do some fish contain? How can you reduce your exposure to dioxin and PCB’s? What is the proper way to clean a fish? How should you cook a fish to reduce your exposure to harmful chemicals?

Human Fish Consumption Guidelines 5. What part of NJ has the most contaminated fish? 6. Who is at high risk in the population? 7. What type of seafood is most contaminated? 8. What is the safest fish to eat? 9. What part of a lobster should you NOT eat? 10. What part of NJ has the least contaminated fish?

The end!