Biomagnification 10-2
- 1. Lillyana Georgieva Rumyana Nikolova Georgi Rusinov 10/2 Biomagnification
- 2. What is bioaccumulation? Definition: “Increase in concentration of a pollutant from the environment to the first organism in a food chain”. (1) When a pollutant enters a food chain (1) Occurs when the rate of absorption of a pollutant is greater than the rate of excretion. (1)
- 3. What is biomagnification? Definition: “I ncrease in concentration of a pollutant from one link in a food chain to another ”. (1) Transfer of a pollutant from one trophic level to another. (1)
- 4. How does biomagnification look like? http://web.bryant.edu/~dlm1/sc372/readings/toxicology/biomagnification.jpg
- 5. What causes biomagnification and bioaccumulation? Presence of food chains in which higher trophic levels depend heavily on large number of organisms from lower trophic levels (in the last picture, the osprey gets energy fixed in the form of food by a vast number of zooplankton organisms) (2) The Rule of 10: 10 % of the energy of one trophic level passes to the next trophic level in a food chain (4) The rate of absorption of a pollutant should be greater than the rate of excretion (depends on the physiology of organisms in the system) (1)
- 7. What are some substances that bioaccumulate? Bioaccumulating substances should meet the following criteria: long-lived mobile soluble in fats biologically active (1). Examples: metals (mercury, cadmium, arsenic), pesticides (DDT, HCB), radioactive materials (2). http://www.tc.umn.edu/~allch001/1815/pestcide/sim/background.htm
- 8. DDT “ A chlorinated hydrocarbon with a half-life of 15years” (1). Comes into ecosystems as a synthetic pesticide. (1) Almost non-toxic to humans but damaging to the nervous systems of insects. (1) Exemplary Case: Long Island Estuary, U.S.A., 1967 - extensive use of the pesticide over the years - biomagnification factor of DDT: 800x - effects: DDT was absorbed by zooplankton and was biomagnified as it moved through crustaceans and fish -> hell-thinning in birds, the last trophic level (ospreys, eagles, etc.) -> inability to brood - solution: banning of DDT in the U.S.A. in 1972 -> birds gradually recovered. The bold eagle came back (1) http://marine.usgs.gov/fact-sheets/fs41-98/
- 9. Radioactive Materials Unstable substances that emit energy Damage all kinds of living tissue Exemplary Case: The Chernobyl Accident, Ukraine, 1986 - large amounts of caesium-137 released in the air and brought around northern Europe - resulted in genetic damage in fish species and bird species that feed on them in the Baltic Sea - in Bulgaria, there was a ban on milk products because there were biomagnified as cows consumed contaminated grass - solution: the Chernobyl NPP plant was sealed, and milk and meat consumption was restricted over Europe to prevent human casualties. (5) http://atomwatch.blogspot.com/2007_09_01_archive.html
- 10. Works Cited “ Bioaccumulation & Biomagnification.” The Department of Biology and Environmental Science . N.p., 3 Apr. 2002. Web. 15 Dec. 2010. <http://www.marietta.edu/~biol/102/2bioma95.html>.(1) “ Biomagnification.” Wikipedia . N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biomagnification>. (2) “ Bioaccumulation.” Wikipedia . N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioaccumulation>.(3) “ The Rule of 10.” The Leading from the Heart Workshop . N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2010. <http://allsquareinc.blogspot.com/2007/02/rule-of-10.html>. (4) “ Types of Pollution (I).” ChemgaPedia . N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2010. <http://www.chemgapedia.de/vsengine/vlu/vsc/en/ch/16/uc/vlus/introductiontopollution.vlu/Page/vsc/en/ch/16/uc/pollution/introduction/types/typesofpoll1.vscml.html>. (5) "What Does It Mean When a Substance Is Said to Bioaccumulate?" WiseGEEK: Clear Answers for Common Questions . Web. 16 Dec. 2010. <http://www.wisegeek.com/what-does-it-mean-when-a-substance-is-said-to-bioaccumulate.htm>.
- 11. Works Cited (pictures) http://www.tc.umn.edu/~allch001/1815/pestcide/sim/background.htm http://mff.dsisd.net/Environment/PICS/Trophics.jpg http://marine.usgs.gov/fact-sheets/fs41-98/ http://atomwatch.blogspot.com/2007_09_01_archive.html http://web.bryant.edu/~dlm1/sc372/readings/toxicology/biomagnification.jpg