Why does DDT get concentrated as it moves up the food chain?

The concentration effect occurs because DDT is metabolized and excreted much more slowly than the nutrients that are passed from one trophic level to the next. So DDT accumulates in the bodies (especially in fat).

What happens to the concentration of DDT as it moves through a food chain?

Answer and Explanation: As Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) moves up the trophic levels in food chains, or food webs, its concentration increases.

How does the concentration of DDT change as you move to higher trophic levels?

Correct answer is B. “Higher trophic levels have higher concentrations of DDT”. The general trend is an upward slope, or a positive correlation. As the trophic level increases, the concentration of DDT is higher.

How does DDT get into the food chain?

Answer and Explanation: DDT enters the food chain after it gets spread, either from getting on insects, plants, or water runoff.

Where would DDT be most concentrated?

The highest amount of DDT and derivatives residues were found in carnivore fish species, C. striatus which is the top predator of food web. In contrast, the lowest residue levels of DDT and derivatives were found in the omnivores, P. gonionotus.

Biomagnification and the Trouble with Toxins

How does DDT move through food chain eventually harming bald eagles?

Larger fish ate the smaller fish and acquired the DDT molecules in their tissues. Eventually, bald eagles ate the larger fish with the DDT and DDT built up even more in the eagle's body tissues. This caused the eagle's egg shells to become soft and easily breakable, limiting their reproductive capacity.

Which of the following trophic level has highest concentration of DDT?

The snake is a tertiary consumer. So the DDT concentration will high in snake.

Is the following in the correct sequence of increasing order of DDT concentration?

Hence, the correct answer is 'Water-0.003ppm, zooplankton- 0.04ppm, small fish-0.5ppm, large fish-2ppm, fish eating birds-25ppm'

What is the relationship between the trophic level and the amount of DDT found in the body of these organisms?

The higher the trophic level of an organism, the higher the concentration of DDT. DDT is excreted from the body very slowly and it is stored in fat. Thus, when an organism consumes another organism, the DDT in the prey accumulates in the predator.

What do you notice about the levels of DDT going from water to phytoplankton and on up to Pelicans?

The level of DDT in water is the same but as it goes into phytoplankton and up to pelicans, it started to gradually increase. When toxins increase as you go up the food chain/food web, it is called biomagnification.

What is the biomagnification of DDT?

Biomagnification happens when toxic chemicals, like DDT, whose remains in the environment are consumed indirectly by organisms through food. When an organism in the higher food chain consumes the lower organism containing such chemicals, the chemicals can get accumulated in the higher organism.

Which one shows the least magnification of DDT in aquatic food chain?

Phytoplanktons are the producers in the food chain having the least amount of toxicant DDT, as we move to the successive trophic levels the amount of DDT increases. It becomes maximum in the fish-eating birds (DDT 25 ppm).

Why did DDT affect bald eagles?

The culprit was DDT - a widely used pesticide that, when ingested, prevented the eagles from reproducing successfully by weakening their offsprings' eggshells. The bald eagle population declined and became critically endangered.

How does DDT move through the environment?

DDT, DDE and DDD may also enter the air when they evaporate from contaminated water and soil. DDT, DDE, and DDD in the air will then be deposited on land or surface water. This cycle of evaporation and deposition may be repeated many times. As a result, DDT, DDE, and DDD can be carried long distances in the atmosphere.

How did high concentrations of DDT affect bird populations?

The high concentration of DDT interferes with the calcium metabolism of birds and induces eggshell thinning. Premature breakage. This causes the population to decrease. Additional Information: Bald eagle and other bird populations collapsed as DDT thinned their eggs killing their embryos.

How does high concentration of DDT cause reproductive failure in birds at the top of the food chain?

The insidious aspect of this phenomenon is that large concentrations of chlorinated hydrocarbons do not usually kill the bird outright. Rather, DDT and its relatives alter the bird's calcium metabolism in a way that results in thin eggshells.

What concentration of DDT did the estuary have in it?

In an estuary off Long Island Sound, Rachel Carson learned that in the water the DDT measured only three parts per trillion (that's only 0.000003 ppm!). That was so low that it didn't seem dangerous at all.

How does DDT get into bald eagles?

The DDT pesticide was exposed to bald eagles by infecting the ground water in which fish would get infected and ending with consumption of the fish by the eagle. Bald eagles migrate to the shoreline to reproduce. They consume these infected fish in the water which in turn infects them.

Why does DDT magnify within food chains when certain other chemicals do not?

Explanation: DDT increases or biomagnifies if we look at a food chain. DDT is fat-soluble, meaning animals store it in fatty tissues. It also takes a relatively long amount of time to break down.

How does DDT affect the food chain Class 10?

DDT being a non- biodegradable pesticide will enter the food chain from the first trophic level i.e. Plankton. Non – biodegradable pesticides accumulate progressively at each trophic level. This phenomenon is known as biological magnification. HAWK will have the highest level of pesticide.

What is biomagnification mention the effects of DDT biomagnification and birds?

Biomagnification of DDT leads to an increase in its concentration at the higher trophic level and its higher concentration in birds leads to the disturbance in their calcium metabolism. This causes the premature breaking of eggs in birds due to thinning of eggshell.

Why is it that the concentration of the chemical increases so much at the higher trophic levels?

Organisms at the top have a higher tissue concentration of toxins and pollutants than lower levels. The concentration system is due to persistence of the toxins, food chain energetics, and low rate of internal degradation or excretion of the substance. Trophic level I represents the primary producers.

Why does the concentration of toxic substances increase from a lower to a higher trophic level?

As the trophic level increases in a food chain, the amount of toxic build up increases. The x's represent the amount of toxic build up accumulating as the trophic level increases. Toxins build up in organism's fat and tissue. Predators accumulate higher toxins than prey.

How does biomagnification of DDT affect the bird population in the aquatic food chain?

It is present in low amount in water and reaches a high concentration in fish-eating birds through biomagnification. Very high concentrations of DDT disturb calcium metabolism in birds, which causes thinning of eggshell and their premature breaking, eventually causing decline in bird populations.

What is the most significant effect of DDT towards a lake ecosystem over time?

DDT's devastating effect on the aquatic environment has been thoroughly studied. Due to it's low solubility, it has a greater rate of bioaccumulation in water, and thus poses a great long-term threat to aquatic wildlife.