biomagnification
Meaning: The increasing concentration of a toxic substance in the tissues of organisms at successively higher levels of a food chain, as predators accumulate pollutants from all the prey they consume.
Biomagnification explains why apex predators — eagles, sharks, polar bears — carry the highest pollutant loads despite living far from pollution sources. The classic case is DDT, which nearly drove peregrine falcons to extinction in Britain by thinning their eggshells. Mercury biomagnification in marine food chains remains a pressing concern today. The term is closely related to bioaccumulation but specifically describes the amplification effect across trophic levels rather than within a single organism. It collocates with 'food chain,' 'trophic level,' 'mercury,' 'DDT,' and 'persistent organic pollutants.'
Examples
- Biomagnification of mercury through the marine food chain means that top predators such as tuna and swordfish contain the highest concentrations. 汞通过海洋食物链的生物放大意味着金枪鱼和剑鱼等顶级捕食者含有最高浓度。La biomagnificación del mercurio a lo largo de la cadena alimentaria marina implica que los depredadores superiores como el atún y el pez espada presentan las concentraciones más altas.海洋食物連鎖を通じた水銀の生物濃縮は、マグロやメカジキなどの頂点捕食者が最も高い濃度を含むことを意味します。해양 먹이 사슬을 통한 수은의 생물 농축은 참치와 황새치 같은 최상위 포식자가 가장 높은 농도를 함유한다는 것을 의미합니다.
- The textbook used the decline of the peregrine falcon to illustrate the devastating effects of biomagnification of DDT. 教科书以游隼数量的下降为例,说明了DDT生物放大的毁灭性影响。El libro de texto utilizó el declive del halcón peregrino para ilustrar los efectos devastadores de la biomagnificación del DDT.教科書はDDTの生物濃縮の壊滅的な影響を説明するためにハヤブサの減少を例に用いました。교과서는 DDT의 생물 농축이 초래한 치명적 영향을 설명하기 위해 매(peregrine falcon)의 감소를 사례로 들었습니다.
- Researchers studying biomagnification in Arctic ecosystems found alarming levels of industrial chemicals in polar bear tissue samples. 研究北极生态系统中生物放大现象的科学家在北极熊组织样本中发现了令人担忧的工业化学品含量。Los investigadores que estudiaban la biomagnificación en los ecosistemas árticos hallaron niveles alarmantes de productos químicos industriales en muestras de tejido de oso polar.北極の生態系における生物濃縮を研究する科学者たちは、ホッキョクグマの組織サンプルから憂慮すべき水準の工業化学物質を発見しました。북극 생태계의 생물 농축을 연구하는 과학자들은 북극곰의 조직 시료에서 우려할 만한 수준의 산업 화학물질을 발견했습니다.
Pronunciation
Usage Guide
Context: academic, professional
Tone: neutral
Origin & History
A compound of bio- (from Greek bios, life) and magnification (from Latin magnificare, to make great). The term was established in ecological science during the 1960s and 1970s.
Cultural Context
Era: Modern
Generation: All ages
Social background: Universal
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