biological magnification

American  

noun

1. the increasing concentration of toxic substances within each successive link in the food chain.

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Usage

What is biological magnification? Biological magnification, or biomagnification, is the increasing buildup of toxic substances within organisms that happens at each stage of the food chain.For example, when a lion eats a crocodile (yes, this happens), it ingests the toxins in the crocodile, which include the toxins from all the animals that the crocodile has ever eaten, which include the toxins from all the plants that those animals have ever eaten. At each stage of the food chain, the toxic buildup increases.The buildup of toxic substances within a single organism is called biological accumulation. Biological magnification, then, is when the biological accumulation in each organism is compounded (added together, or magnified). Due to biomagnification, the amount of toxic substances (such as mercury or pesticides) is greater in the bodies of organisms (including humans) that consume other organisms.Biological magnification occurs because some toxic substances don’t get broken down or filtered out of the body. This means that every organism that eats another gets loaded up with a lot of accumulated bad stuff.

Example Sentences

Despite its resistance to water, DDT is easily soluble in fats and highly susceptible to "biological magnification" as it makes its way up the food chain.

From Time Magazine Archive