European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

BIOMAGNIFICATION POTENTIAL OF POLLUTANTS IN THE AQUATIC ECOSYSTEM

*Krishnakumar B. Vaghela, Devangee P. Shukla and Nayan K. Jain

ABSTRACT

The term "biomagnification" refers to the process by which contaminated materials or hazardous chemicals become more prevalent in food chains. These substances frequently originate from contaminated or drunken environments. The contaminants include pesticides, heavy metals like mercury and arsenic, and compounds known as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which are ingested by organisms through their food or absorbed from their surroundings. Numerous industrial and household chemicals contain significant amounts of these materials. Substances that are detrimental then accumulate within the cells of the organism. Toxins progressively accumulate in the higher food chain when organisms higher up the food chain eat those lower on the trophic scale that contain them. The higher organisms will accumulate most of the toxins because this is a recurring process in the ecosystem and throughout the entire food chain. The primary purposes of monitoring the toxicity and accumulation of metals in the aquatic biota or sediment are to evaluate the quality of the surface water and guarantee food safety, respectively, and to ensure that the directives are being followed. The toxicity and accumulation parameters are used to determine the source of metal contamination and for a variety of environmental monitoring programs, including those that monitor wastewater discharges and risk assessments of both natural and man-made events, such as floods and dredging operations.

Keywords: Biomagnification, causes and effects, pollutants, heavy metals, accumulation potential, food chain, aquatic ecosystem.