what is the relationship between the trophic level of an organism and and the concentration of DDT in its body?

Question

Josephine Allen · Accepted Answer

The higher the trophic level of an organism, the higher the concentration of DDT.

DDT biomagnifies, meaning it increases in concentration as one moves up the food chain. The higher the trophic level of an organism, the higher the concentration of DDT.

DDT is excreted from the body very slowly and it is stored in fat. Thus, when an organism consumes another organism, the DDT in the prey accumulates in the predator. With each prey the predator consumes, it stores much of that DDT and the amount of DDT in the predator is more concentrated than in its prey.

See this related Socratic question and this website on DDT in osprey for a good example of how DDT affects wildlife .

Emilia Alcaraz · Answer

undefined DDT concentration increases with trophic level due to biomagnification.