Biomagnification is the increase of a pollutant from one link of a food chain to the next. When a pollutant enters an environment, it's taken in by the lowest organism on the food chain. The next highest organism will eat the lowest, and take in the pollutant. This continues up the food chain, with each new organism having a higher concentration of the pollutant than the last because of the amount they're taking in. One pollutant that can do this is mercury.
Mercury can be used in a variety of ways, such as pharmaceuticals and making electrical equipment, but the vast majority of mercury found in the environment is from burning fossil fuels. Coal high in sulfur tends to be high in mercury as well, and when it burns both chemicals are released into the atmosphere. From there, it is washed back into the earth by rain and can run off into bodies of water where it does damage. Once in water, bacteria transform it into in its organic form, methylmercury, which can be absorbed by microscopic aquatic organisms and insects eaten by fish. They are eaten by larger fish, and eventually the fish are caught and eaten by humans, who will have the highest concentration in their bodies. This is an issue specifically in a village on the Amazon River, Brasilia Legal, where a case study was done to find out how mercury affects people.
Multiple solutions have been suggested and put in place to decrease the amount of mercury in the environment. Researches have been working with farmers in this area to plant crops that can decrease the leaching of mercury from the soil. They have also been working with fishermen to identify areas in the river that have high concentrations of the bacteria that turn mercury into toxic methylmercury. Efforts to limit these spots have been successful through shoreline conservation and restoration.
Johnson, Maureen. "CASE STUDY: Brazil - Mercury Contamination in the Amazon." CASE STUDY: Brazil - Mercury Contamination in the Amazon. IDRC, n.d. Web. 01 Oct. 2015.
Winner, Cherie. "How Does Toxic Mercury Get into Fish?" Oceanus Magazine. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 1 Oct. 2010. Web. 01 Oct. 2015.
tiger is commenting-This post is 100% complete, the author used multiple sources in their post to make their point, they also were able to define bio-magnification as well as the other objectives of this task.
ReplyDeleteMy question would have to be are there any specific areas in the U.S. that humans are affected by bio-magnification?