1. Biological Magnification
Lab on a Pollutant in the Ecosystem

2. Biomagnification:
The increasing concentration of a substance, such as a toxic chemical, in the tissues of organisms at successively higher levels in a food chain.
Video:

3. Think about this: Does the pollutant
Claim:
Pollutants get incorporated into each trophic level because organisms are dependent upon each other for food.
Think about this: Does the pollutant
affect each trophic level the same?

4. Meet the consumers
Eagle
Shrimp
Fish

5. The Aquatic Ecosystem
All Are Consumers

6. Can you find the lower level consumers. Look for the crackers
Can you find the lower level consumers? Look for the crackers. Each cracker represents the pollutant that was eaten.

7. Notice that the middle level consumer now has the cracker
Notice that the middle level consumer now has the cracker. Where did they
Get the cracker from? The small cup ( shrimp cup) was eaten by the medium
cup.

8. Diagram of what is happening during your lab activity-
Marine Ecosystem:
Diagram of what is happening during your lab activity-
Find the shrimp. What is its trophic level?

9. Post Lab: The previous slide shows the food chain studied.
Pollutant
Air
water
soil

10. How Mercury Gets in Organsims
Old Film DDT and Rachel Carson
Acadia, Air Pollution and Mercury
Family Video on Mercury
Biological Magnification and Bioaccumulation
DDT
Pesticides
Fish, Mercury and You