Bio magnification, also known as biological magnification, refers to the increasing concentration of a substance like pesticides or heavy metals as it moves up the food chain. Substances become more concentrated in the tissues of organisms at higher trophic levels due to the persistence of these chemicals in the environment and their low excretion rates from organisms' bodies. Two main groups of substances are prone to biomagnification - persistent organic pollutants like PCBs and metals, both of which are not easily degraded. Predator species face greater risks from biomagnification as the concentration of toxins is highest in their tissues, being at the top of food webs and consuming large amounts of contaminated prey.

2. What is bio magnification??
 It is 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 as a consequence of:
 Persistence ( Can't be broken down by environmental
processes)
 Food chain energetics
 Low rate of internal degradation/excretion of
the substance.

5.  It also refers to the process whereby certain
substances such as pesticides or heavy
metals move up the food chain, work their
way into rivers or lakes, and are eaten by
aquatic organisms such as fish, which in
turn are eaten by large birds, animals or
humans. The substances become
concentrated in tissues or internal organs
as they move up the chain.

6.  Sometimes biomagnification is also used
interchangeably with 'bioaccumulation,' an
important distinction is drawn between
the two, and with bioconcentration
 Bioaccumulation occurs within a trophic
level, and is the increase in concentration
of a substance in certain tissues of
organisms' bodies due to absorption from
food and the environment.

8.  Bioconcentration is defined as occurring
when uptake from the water is greater
than excretion .
 Thus bioconcentration and
bioaccumulation occur within an organism,
and biomagnification occurs across trophic
(food chain) levels.

9. Substances that biomagnify
 TThheerree aarree ttwwoo mmaaiinn
ggrroouuppss ooff ssuubbssttaanncceess
tthhaatt bbiioommaaggnniiffyy..
 BBootthh aarree lliippoopphhiilliicc
aanndd nnoott eeaassiillyy
ddeeggrraaddeedd..
 TThheessee aarree 'persistent
organic pollutants'' oorr
POPs aanndd MMeettaallss..

10. Persistent organic pollutants
 Novel organic substances are not easily
degraded because organisms lack previous
exposure and have thus
not evolved specific detoxification and
excretion mechanisms, as there has been no
selection pressure from them. These
substances are consequently known as
'persistent organic pollutants' or POPs.

12. Chemical structure of PCBs. The
possible positions of
chlorine atoms on the benzene
rings are denoted by numbers
assigned to the carbon atoms.

14. Chemical structure

15. Chemical structure

16. Metals
 MMeettaallss aarree nnoott ddeeggrraaddaabbllee bbeeccaauussee tthheeyy aarree
eelleemmeennttss.. OOrrggaanniissmmss,, ppaarrttiiccuullaarrllyy tthhoossee ssuubbjjeecctt
ttoo nnaattuurraallllyy hhiigghh lleevveellss ooff eexxppoossuurree ttoo mmeettaallss,,
hhaavvee mmeecchhaanniissmmss ttoo sseeqquueesstteerr aanndd eexxccrreettee
mmeettaallss.. PPrroobblleemmss aarriissee wwhheenn oorrggaanniissmmss aarree
eexxppoosseedd ttoo hhiigghheerr ccoonncceennttrraattiioonnss tthhaann uussuuaall,,
wwhhiicchh tthheeyy ccaannnnoott eexxccrreettee rraappiiddllyy eennoouugghh ttoo
pprreevveenntt ddaammaaggee.. TThheessee mmeettaallss aarree ttrraannssffeerrrreedd
iinn aann oorrggaanniicc ffoorrmm..

19. Violet light from
a helium cadmium metal
vapor laser. The
highly monochromatic color
arises from the 441.563 nm
transition line of cadmium.

23.  Biomagnification has serious consequences
for all species.
 It is particularly dangerous
for predator species especially if they are at
the top of long food webs.
 Predators are usually at or near the top of
their food web. This puts them at risk
because the degree of biomagnification is
high by the time it reaches their trophic
level.

25.  Also, top predators usually consume large
quantities of meat which has lots of fatty
tissue and contaminants.
 Polar bears, humans, eagles,
and dolphins are examples of top
predators, and all of these organisms are
vulnerable to the effects of
biomagnification.

26. PCBs cause liver cancer in humans.

27.  Predators that consume large amounts of
fish also have a high degree of risk because
persistent hydrophobics are widely
dispersed in aquatic food webs and are
biomagnified in fish.
Biomagnified
substances causes
persistent
hydrophobia.

28. TThhaannkk yyoouu……