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What Is Biological
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Magni0cation?
Last Updated: Oct 29, 2019

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Biological Magnification: If you are a student of Biology or other related Top 16 Animals with
natural science courses, you may have studied or heard about the field the Best Hearing
called “ecotoxicology“. This field of biology focuses on the negative effects of
harmful chemicals and toxins on different ecosystems and the living
organisms present there. Top 26 BEST Animals
With Best Eyesight

Aside from that, it also takes into account the direct and indirect effects of
these chemicals on the overall structure of habitats as well as the amount of
food in that area. Top 18 BEST Tundra
Animal Adaptations

In this article, we will give you a brief overview of how ecotoxicology works.
Here, you will learn about how these harmful chemicals make their way
through soils, different bodies of water and in biological food chains in the 15 Interesting Ocean
Animal Adaptations
process called biological magnification.

Table of Contents Top 10 BEST Colleges

For Nutrition and
Definition of Biological Magnification 4. Mining Dietetics
Examples of Biological Magnification Effects of Biological Magnification
Causes of Biological Magnification 1. Pollutant Build Up
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1. Organic Contaminants 2. Bioaccumulation in Fat Cells For ObGyn
2. Agricultural and Industrial Wastes 3. Effects on The Health of Organisms
3. Pollution References

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De#nition of Biological Magni#cation
Also referred to as “biomagnification” or “bioamplification,” biological
magnification happens when there is an increase in the number of
chemicals and toxins that accumulate through the trophic levels of a food
chain. Chemical substances from agriculture and industries tend to be
released into the environment, making their way toward food chains and
food webs.

Normally within food chains and food webs, biological magnification

doesn’t directly affect living organisms. However, exposure to these
harmful chemicals may cause some long-term and irreversible side Top 27 Biology Themed
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Often, biological magnification is confused with the term

bioaccumulation. However, it is important to note that the two are
significantly distinct from one another. The latter refers to the
phenomenon wherein toxic chemicals accumulate or gather inside the
cells and tissues of living organisms. On the other hand, it is good to
know that these two processes are interconnected in a way. When living The Fathers of Biology
organisms can no longer dissolve the chemicals present in the food
chain, they tend to accumulate them inside their bodies, thus resulting
to bioaccumulation.
As you move up the food chain, the vulnerability to biological
magnification and bioaccumulation also increases. Hence, organisms
located in the highest levels of the food chain (usually tertiary
consumers) also have the highest possibilities of accumulating most
chemicals.
The 25 Most Notable
This phenomenon of increasing substance concentration as you move Biology Discoveries of All
higher in the food chain is called as the food chain energetics. Times

Biomagni(cation and the Trouble with Toxins

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Examples of Biological Magni#cation
Here is an example of biological magnification:

For crops and plants (producers), to eradicate the pests, pesticides, and
fertilizers are being used. When animals (herbivores) such as deer,
goats, & cows graze these plants, the toxic substances get into these
animal systems.
When the primary consumers such as foxes/wolves hunt these
herbivores for food, the toxic materials get into wolves systems.
The carnivores (apex of the food chain) such as tigers consume
these wolves, the toxic substances get into tigers system.
Now if we compare plants and tigers on the toxicity level, the
accumulation of toxic substances would be higher on tigers than of
plants because tigers eat many wolves who eat many deer who eat a lot
of plants with pesticides on them). So the toxic level has magnified to a
different degree, hence the name – biological magnification.

Suggested Reading: What Do Wolves Eat?

Causes of Biological Magni#cation

Biological magnification, despite being a biological phenomenon, is often
caused and triggered by anthropogenic factors. Some of these causes include BIOLOGY HISTORY
organic contaminants, agricultural and industrial wastes, pollution from
plastics, and heavy metals from mining.

1. Organic Contaminants

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Biochemistry

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Biotechnology

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Organic Contaminants (Coovum River in Chennai, India)

Organic contaminants like carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus are known

to be very abundant in the natural environment. As a general rule, too Complete History of History of Genetics
much of everything can be very bad. While these chemicals are known to Evolution

be necessary for organism survival, their excessive amounts in ecosystems

can lead to a phenomenon called eutrophication.

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As a result, living organisms like prokaryotes and algae exhibit rapid

and exponential growth. Because of their excessive population, other
organisms die as a result of oxygen depletion.

2. Agricultural and Industrial Wastes

Chemicals from inorganic fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides

are often known to contaminate soils and bodies of water via runoff from
rains and storms.

Aside from that, industrial wastes from factories and other industrial
operations can also contribute to the release of toxic chemicals and
heavy metals to the food chain.

3. Pollution

In the recent years, pollution of oceans due to excessive plastic disposal

has become a significant global environmental problem.

For instance, a substance present in plastics, called as Bisphenol A, is

considered as one of the leading chemicals that pollute the
environment.

4. Mining

Last but not the least, are mining activities that result in the discharge of
heavy metal deposits (i.e., zinc, silver, gold, cobalt) into aquatic
environments. As a result, levels of chemical toxicity in these areas
increases tremendously.

Aside from polluting aquatic plants, metal pollution of water can also
contaminate drinking water systems. Disturbingly, metal
contamination is considered to be very hard to treat.

Effects of Biological Magni#cation

As alluded to earlier, biological magnification, especially when not
controlled, can be fatal to living organisms. The following are just some of
its negative effects.

1. Pollutant Build Up

Pollutant build up, especially from those persistent chemical elements, is

one of the most common effects of biological magnification. Being made
up of a single element, these chemicals accumulate fast, and when they
do, they become very hard to biodegrade. Water plants and algae can
easily accumulate harmful chemicals because they share similar qualities
with the kinds of nutrients these organisms need for growth.

If by any chance the chemical is still present within the plant after
being eaten by a larger organism (in the food chain), the next organism
will get to absorb that chemical as well. And as it continues to consume
more of those plants, the chances that the larger organism absorbs
more chemicals will also increase.
One of the most common examples of biomagnification is algal bloom
that often leads to red tide. In this case, excessive amounts of chemicals
(presumed by the organism as a nutrient) cause the overgrowth of the
alga known as Karenia brevis. This alga, which is color red due to the
pigment xanthophyll, is capable of producing a certain kind of
neurotoxin that can be deadly to organisms that consume them.
Symptoms of poisoning from red tide include numbness and digestive
problems.

2. Bioaccumulation in Fat Cells

While some toxins are easily removed from the body, there are also those
foreign chemical substances that tend to be stored within the fat cells of
organisms. Such occurrence is very hard to treat because some of these
chemicals can only be removed using specific enzymes.

If the organism is lucky enough, it may have the capability to produce

enzymes that can degrade such chemical. However, if otherwise, the
chemical substance may gradually accumulate inside its fat cells and
become irrecoverable.

3. Effects on The Health of Organisms

As alluded to earlier, organisms located at the higher level of the food
chain also harbor the higher risks for biomagnification. Nevertheless, the
mere build-up of these harmful chemicals inside living cells and tissues
can pose a great risk to health.

Mercury, for instance, is a toxic chemical that affects the central and
peripheral nervous system as well as cardiovascular system. Because
of this, the ingestion of mercury can cause a wide variety of diseases,
reproductive problems, mutations, birth abnormalities, behavioral
changes, and death.
Alarmingly, toxic chemicals like mercury tend to settle on the ocean
floor and are taken up by organisms that feed on plants and sediments.

Environmental problems like biological magnification have already

been present for a long time. As you have seen in this article, humans are
the biggest threat to the ecosystem, and ironically, we are also the ones who
can take actions to prevent its destruction. Knowledge and awareness are
the first steps to doing this.

Timely concerns about environmental sustainability intensify the need to

teach people about the relationship between human health and the states of
our ecosystems. By engaging in activities, we develop a greater
understanding of the core values between humans and environment.

Cite this article as: "What Is Biological Magnification?," in Bio

Explorer, February 9, 2021, https://www.bioexplorer.net/biological-
magnification.html/.

References
“Biomagnification facts, information, pictures | Encyclopedia.com articles about
Biomagnification”. Accessed December 25, 2017. Link .
“”. Accessed December 25, 2017. Link .
“Biology The Phosphorus Cycle – Shmoop Biology”. Accessed December 25, 2017. Link .
“What are persistent organic pollutants? | Greenpeace International”. Accessed December
25, 2017. Link .
“Biomagnification – Toxipedia”. Accessed December 25, 2017. Link .
“WHO | Mercury and health”. Accessed December 25, 2017. Link .

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