Pass it on

1
Pass it on

• Trophic Levels and Biomagnification

2
Trophic Levels

• 10 of the matter consumed by an organism is
  passed on
• 90 is lost as heat energy used to support body
  function

3

• The same ratio occurs in toxin found in food
  sources
• Predators consume non-biodegradable toxins in
  their prey incorporating it into their own body.

4
But

• Since the body does not know how to recognize the
  toxin, the amount of toxin in the body is
  magnified by 10.
• This is biomagnification
• Example
• Producer (0.01) Primary Consumer (0.1)
  Secondary Consumer (1) Tertiary
  Consumer (10)

5
So what about bioaccumulation?

• Some toxins are not degraded fast enough by the
  body and build up in the system where they are
  stored in fats.
• The longer it takes for the toxins to breakdown
  the greater the risk of poisoning even when there
  is not much of the toxin in the environment.