What is biological magnification? Will the levels of this magnification be different at different levels of the ecosystem?

Biomagnification is a phenomenon in which certain harmful chemicals such as pesticides, fungicides get accumulated in the body of organisms in higher concentration through food chain.

The organisms at highest trophic level, in them accumulation is the highest.


Example: DDT shows biomagnification. It is an insecticide used to kill mosquitoes.


DDT gets accumulated in the successive trophic levels. Zooplankton, small nekton, larger fish etc., anyone who eats these fish also have higher level of DDT than fish.


DDT found in phytoplankton is 800 times more than that of water and zooplanktons have five times more than that of Phytoplanktons.



In fish population, it is increased 40 times and 25 times more in fish eating birds.


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