What phenomenon occurs when chemicals and pesticides accumulate in the food chain?

Biological magnification, also known as biomagnification, is a phenomenon that occurs when certain chemicals, particularly persistent pollutants like pesticides, accumulate in the bodies of organisms at each level of the food chain. This process begins when small organisms, such as fish or plankton, absorb or ingest these toxins from their environment. As larger predators consume these smaller organisms, the concentration of toxins increases in their bodies.

This is due to the fact that the persistent chemicals cannot easily be broken down or excreted, leading to a higher concentration as they move up the food chain. For example, when a small fish ingests contaminated plankton, it may have a certain level of toxins in its tissues. If a larger fish then eats several of these smaller fish, it will accumulate a significantly higher concentration of the toxins. This accumulation can lead to severe health issues not only in wildlife but also in humans when they consume these contaminated species.

In contrast, mutualism, parasitism, and commensalism refer to types of symbiotic relationships between organisms, which do not involve the accumulation of chemicals within a food chain and thus do not pertain to this particular phenomenon. Mutualism involves both species benefiting, parasitism involves one species benefiting at the