Question

What is bioaccumulation?

Answer 1

It is the gradual accumulation of substances like pesticides or insecticides in an organism from its environment.It may result from direct absorption of from the environment or ingestion of food particles.

Complete answer:
Bioaccumulation occurs when the concentration of the biological substance increases at every trophic level.This is because that substance could not be excreted out of the body and is not metabolised by the organism too.It is actually defined as the build up of certain chemicals inside the body of living beings(biomagnification).One of the example is DDT dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane its concentration gets level up as it goes on to higher category organisms.In aquatic life water is polluted with DDT it enters into the fish body ,than they are eaten by some big sharks or whales ,it gets accumulated more than it enters in to birds like eel.So the organism at the highest category will have the major DDT concentration,not only its effects to humans when it comes to birds it can be highly dangerous as it breaks birds eggs by thinning the calcium membrane.Other substances like mercury can also be accumulated and it causes minamata disease which was first seen in japanese people. This disease includes numbness in the hand,general weakness and impaired vision.

Note: The concentration of bioaccumulation substances usually increases with the age of an organism. Bioaccumulation is one of the factors used to assess the environmental hazard of a chemical. Chemicals with a higher tendency towards bioaccumulation form a greater hazard.