#biomagnification

[protectoursharks]

Carcharodon carcharias or the Great White Shark 

The blood of the Great White Shark is toxic; it’s composed of levels of arsenic, lead, and mercury that would kill most animals. They have these high levels of toxins due to biomagnification. This is when contamination started at a lower level in the food chain (like in krill for example), and those toxins get passed onto their predators (certain fish, which are then eaten by sea lions which are then eaten by sharks).

[gaylienz]

[kagaz-ki-kashti]

indian med student.

@biomagnification , i hope you like it

[alihsi]

Inktober Day 25: For the Inktober prompt: tasty and the sciart prompt: animal, an illustration about bioaccumulation and biomagnification. I went off on a long research tangent, which is why I’m now two days behind. Elemental mercury gets into the ocean from precipiates from coal mine exhaust and incineration and runoff from mines (30%), but also a bit from natural sources such as volcanoes (10%). The other 60% comes from  plants and soils where mercury was stored (from forest fires), but later disturbed through flooding or clear-cutting. Then bacteria in the ocean and in the seafloor take up the mercury and release the hazardous methylmercury as a byproduct of respiration. This diffuses through the walls of phytoplankton like diatoms, which are eaten, in this case by krill, subsequently eaten by mackerel, and then eaten by bluefin tuna. and that of course, is consumed by humans for food. A simplification of the food web, but it demonstrates the process. As methylmercury travels up through the food web, it becomes more difficult to get rid of which is why it accumulates in the tissues of top predators. This WHOI article was a good resource for information. I accidentally made the mining pit too big and nothing’s labeled yet. Pentel brushpen, Prismacolor fine line marker (03), Pigma Micron (01), and a red Brush calligraphy brushpen on Canson mixed media.

[shipshapeseal]

Looks Can Be Deceiving

There are several news articles going around citing a study which found that free-ranging bottlenose dolphins are essentially sicker than those in human care. I've linked the primary source below. This comes as no surprise to me or anyone else in the zoological field, but it's interesting to see formal peer-reviewed research on the subject. It's also very upsetting. The wild bottlenose dolphins are suffering from high levels of mercury and other industrial pollution. They are accumulating toxins in their tissues via biomagnification (they eat the prey that ate the prey that ate the original man-made pollutant). This has weakened their immune systems and made it more difficult for them to fight off various pathogens. Our Atlantic coastlines may appear clean and beautiful compared to other parts of the world, but looks can be deceiving. 

The environment as a driver of immune and endocrine responses in dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)

[oaresearchpaper]

The mercury and cadmium levels in the waters of the two major rivers in Cagayan De Oro City…

The Cagayan de Oro River and the Iponan River are two major rivers in the City of Cagayan de Oro—a highly urbanized city in the southern part of the Philippines. The waters of these two rivers were monitored at the downstream, midstream, and upstream portions for 8 months to establish the levels of mercury and cadmium. A total of 11 samples have been taken and analyzed for mercury using AAS equipped with a mercury/hydride system and for cadmium using flame AAS. The analysis methods used were validated in terms of detection limit, quantitation limit, signal-to-noise ratio, and percent recovery using USEPA-based procedure. On the average, the mercury for the Cagayan de Oro River came out at a concentration of 0.073 ppb and was highest at the downstream; for the Iponan River, it averaged at 0.067 and was highest at the upstream. The cadmium for the Cagayan de Oro River turned out at 0.048ppm and was uniform throughout; for the Iponan River, it was 0.033ppm and relatively somewhat higher at the upstream. Risk characterization based on the ANZECC guideline trigger values yielded risk quotients that indicated no risk to the two river ecosystems as far as mercury, but an enormous risk is suggested due to cadmium for both river ecosystems.

[oaresearchpaper]

The Cagayan de Oro River and the Iponan River are two major rivers in the City of Cagayan de Oro—a highly urbanized city in the southern part of the Philippines. The waters of these two rivers were monitored at the downstream, midstream, and upstream portions for 8 months to establish the levels of mercury and cadmium. A total of 11 samples have been taken and analyzed for mercury using AAS equipped with a mercury/hydride system and for cadmium using flame AAS. The analysis methods used were validated in terms of detection limit, quantitation limit, signal-to-noise ratio, and percent recovery using USEPA-based procedure. On the average, the mercury for the Cagayan de Oro River came out at a concentration of 0.073 ppb and was highest at the downstream; for the Iponan River, it averaged at 0.067 and was highest at the upstream. The cadmium for the Cagayan de Oro River turned out at 0.048ppm and was uniform throughout; for the Iponan River, it was 0.033ppm and relatively somewhat higher at the upstream. Risk characterization based on the ANZECC guideline trigger values yielded risk quotients that indicated no risk to the two river ecosystems as far as mercury, but an enormous risk is suggested due to cadmium for both river ecosystems.

[homeoflearning1]

What is Biomagnification?

When the quantities of harmful substances such as pesticides and insecticides increase in the food chain of marine and aquatic organisms and are in turn consumed by other living beings, it is known as biomagnification. YOU MAY READ Types of Pollution Excessive concentration of foreign particles or substances into the air which adversely affects the atmosphere is known as air pollution. Read…

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