Biomagnification through a Food Chain-Questions
Describe the restrictions implemented by the Stockholm Convention-discuss both DDT and POPs?
At the Conference of Plenipotentiaries, POPs were introduced to eliminate or control the use of DDT and POPs. The Convention limits the use of DDT to prevention of malaria in certain countries.
Differentiate between bioaccumulation and biomagnification?
Bioaccumulation is the increase in the amount/concentration of a fat soluble toxin in the tissue. Biomagnification is the increase of the toxin as you move up the food chain.
Differentiate between water soluble and fat soluble toxins-specifically which type will move up the food chain and which will be excreted?
Fat soluble toxins stay in the tissues and organs of an organism so that when another thing eats it, they will extract to them. Water soluble toxins will just be excreted.
What does POP stand for> Describe the "Dirty Dozen".
POP stands for Persistent Organic Pollutants. The "Dirty Dozen" are other fat soluble toxins that POP has places limitations on such as PCBs, Aldrin, chlordane, and dioxin.
Who was the author of the 1962 book, Silent Spring? What was its impact?
Rachel Carson was the author of 'Silent Spring'. It's impact was that it started to make people question the chemical and the effect it has on the environment.
Thinking of your own diet, it is probably safest to eat at what trophic level? Explain.
The safest trophic level to eat at would be the producer level however, according to my diet the most realistic option would be primary consumers/secondary consumers because those are the lowest levels on the trophic level that we normally eat at.
Compare the amount of DDT found in the osprey with the amount of toxin found in one phytoplankton. Specifically, how many more times DDT is in the osprey?
There is a lot more DDT in the osprey because as the DDT moves through the food chain, higher it goes, the more DDT there is osprey had 100 times more.
Compare your result to those reported by Rachel Carson(below)?
They are similar because they both include an increased level of DDT as you go up the trophic levels.
