What defines biomagnification?

Biomagnification refers to the process where certain toxic substances, such as persistent pesticides or heavy metals, accumulate in greater concentrations at each successive trophic level in a food chain. When organisms consume food, they may ingest these substances, and because some of these chemicals cannot be easily broken down or excreted, they build up in the tissues of the organisms. As you move up the food chain – for instance, from plants to herbivores to carnivores – each predator consumes multiple prey, leading to increasingly higher concentrations of these chemicals in their bodies compared to those present in the environment. This phenomenon poses significant environmental and health risks, as it affects not only the animals at the top of the food chain but also the entire ecosystem, including humans who may consume those affected species.