Bioaccumulation: Quick Facts

Written and fact-checked by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Photos

Infographic illustrating bioaccumulation and biomagnification, showing how toxins build up in small organisms and increase in concentration as they move up the food chain to larger fish and apex predators.

Fish swim among floating plastic bottles and debris in polluted Atlantic Ocean water near Coruna, Spain.

Rachel Carson speaks into multiple microphones at a Senate subcommittee hearing on pesticides in 1963, wearing glasses and a dark dress with papers in front of her.

See All Images →

Topics

dioxin DDT polychlorinated biphenyl toxin chlordane aldrin Metabolism Glycogenolysis beta-aminoisobutyric acid excretion Catabolism Glycogenesis Anabolism photodynamism photorecovery photosynthesis Bioluminescence