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Bioaccumulation
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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.
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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.
Bioaccumulation and biomagnification Contaminants enter the food chain during bioaccumulation. They move up the food chain during biomagnification.

Bioaccumulation

biology
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Karen Sottosanti
Karen Sottosanti is a writer and editor who works in educational publishing. 
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Bioaccumulation, the increase in the concentration of heavy metals or other toxic chemicals in a living organism’s fatty tissues and muscles over time due to the organism’s inability to break down and excrete these substances quickly enough. The gradual accumulation of these substances in the body can disrupt normal physiological functions, ultimately leading to disease, impaired health, and, in severe cases, death. Because such substances often persist in tissues and accumulate over time, their adverse...

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