How is using of toxic material affecting the ecosystem? Write a short note on bioaccumulation and biomagnifications. (AS1)

i. Using of pesticides (toxic chemicals) that kill pests, weedicides (toxic chemicals) that kill weeds used in the agriculture, lead to the destruction of many other species along with pets in the ecosystem.

ii. Some of these may be predators which naturally feed on these pests, some other may be the food of other animals.

iii. These may lead to unpredictable changes in food chains and upset the balance within the ecosystem.

i. Bioaccumulation refers to how pollutants enter a food chain.

ii. It is a process of increase in the concentration of a pollutant from the environment to the first organism in a food chain.

iii. Biomagnification is the tendency of pollutants to concentrate as they move from one tropic level to the next is known as biomagnification.

iv. Since human beings occupy the top level in any food chain, so the maximum amount of toxic pesticides get accumulated into the human bodies.