Question

After exposure to a bioaccumulating toxin for long period of time, which type of organism would you expect to have the highest toxin concentration

Answer 1

Answer:

The problem of toxicant exposure and bioaccumulation in the population appears to be rising rapidly, yet this escalating health threat remains insufficiently recognized by many within the medical community. A recent study by the Centers for Disease Control reveals that most American adults and children of both genders have bioaccumulated numerous toxic pollutants in their body . A similar epidemiological study in Canada also reveals a widespread accrual of assorted toxicants . Furthermore, a recent cord-blood study on infants revealed that at birth, most neonates have already accumulated assorted toxicants reflecting maternal exposure . The neurodevelopmental sequelae of such exposures can be observed in the swelling pandemic of autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders

. Yet, while most people are aware of the risks associated with toxicant exposure and accrual from pollutants such as nicotine and cadmium found in cigarettes, many are not yet apprised of the adverse outcomes of exposures to various other chemical agents that are at least as harmful as what is found in tobacco.

Answer 2

The organisms of top tropic level would be affected by the accumulation of toxins in higher concentration.

Explanation:

The food transfers from one organism to another via pathway called food chain or food web.

It can be explained with the help of an example :- Suppose a farmer spray chemical insecticide in his field. Each plant absorbs 1 g of that chemical . when a herbivore ,let it be a rat feed on 5 plants , the quantity of chemical in it would be 5 g . When  a carnivore , let it be snake eats 5 snake a day , the concentration of chemical in snake would be 5*5 = 25 g. let a last top carnivore, vulture feed on 2 snakes, the concentration in vulture would be 50 g.

Hence, the above example clearly illustrates that the concentration of a toxic substance keep on increasing at each level in food chain and it is maximum at  last level.