<span title="BiOACCUMULATION?????????????????????????????">BiOACCUMULATION??????????...</span>

Question

Hey all. Just wondering what bioaccumulation is (in reference to ecosystems).

Also could someone explain bioaccumulation in regards to mercury contamination in fish...

Thanks everyone!!!

Answer 1

When one level on a food chain eats a lower organisms, only 10% of the energy that the organism consumed is passed on, however, all of the mercury is passed on, and therefore distilled by ten times

Answer 2

Bioaccumulation would be the slow build up of toxins in animals.  In fish, mercury in the water and in their food builds up in their systems.  They have ways of taking it in, but no way to flush it out.  As we humans eat more and more of the mercury laden fish, the idea is that we also will build up toxic levels of mercury in our bodies, since like the fish, we can&#039;t get it out of our bodies either.