1.3.23

Bioaccumulation - DDT and Mercury

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Bioaccumulation

In food webs, toxins can enter the system and build up in organisms. The build up of these toxins in organisms is called bioaccumulation. Mercury and DDT can bioaccumulate.

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Bioaccumulation of DDT

  • Chemicals that have been researched to bioaccumulate in the environment include DDT.
    • DDT is an insecticide.
    • DDT caused the shell weakening of birds of prey it bioaccumulated in.
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Bioaccumulation of mercury

  • Mercury can bioaccumulate.
    • Mercury is used to prevent barnacles growing on ship hulls.
    • Mercury found its way into fish and has even been discovered in humans.
  • Mercury has also entered the marine ecosystem from burning fossil fuels.
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Mercury in humans

  • Mercury levels in tuna have been monitored since the 1970s.
    • Mercury levels are reported as being stable.
  • Stable mercury levels are a concern as humans eat a lot of tuna.
    • Higher levels of mercury affect the nervous system and the brain.
    • Mercury can also affect the development of unborn babies if accumulated in pregnant women.
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How mercury bioaccumulates

  • Mercury is absorbed by plankton once it reaches their environment.
  • Small fish eat the plankton.
  • Tuna eat the small fish.
  • Tuna are caught and eaten by humans.

Jump to other topics

1Biology

1.1Cells, Tissues & Organs

1.2Reproduction & Variation

1.3Ecological Relationships & Classification

1.4Digestion & Nutrition

1.5Plants & Photosynthesis

1.6Biological Systems & Processes

2Chemistry

2.1Particles

2.2Chemical Reactions

2.3Atoms, Elements, Compounds

2.4The Periodic Table

2.5Materials & the Earth

2.6Reactivity

2.7Energetics

2.8Properties of Materials

3Physics

3.1Energy

3.2Forces & Motion

3.3Waves

3.4Electricity & Magnetism

3.5Matter

3.6Space Physics

4Disciplinary Knowledge

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