Question

What is biological magnification?

Answer 1

Biological magnification refers to the increase in the concentration of a substance present inside the tissues as it transfers from one trophic level to another in the food chain. Effluents from industries contain toxic chemicals that might contaminate the water used for agriculture. These chemicals are absorbed by crops through the soil. As the herbivores feed on these crops, chemicals enter their body. The herbivores pass on the chemicals to the carnivores, and so on. However, the toxic effect observed will be much higher in carnivores than in crops or herbivores. This is because of biomagnification. These toxic substances cannot be decomposed or degraded. Therefore, their concentration keeps on increasing as we move to higher trophic levels.