Question

"If you are concerned about biomagnification of toxins, which one of the following would you most want to avoid eating? a. Tuna (tertiary consumer) b. Seaweed (producer) c. Urchin (primary consumer) d. Sculpin (secondary consumer)

Answer 1

In the case of biomagnification of toxins, a tertiary consumer like tuna would have the highest concentration of toxins as they feed on other consumers. The process leads to a greater accumulation of toxins that magnify within the food chain. Seaweed, urchins, and sculpin would have fewer toxins due to their lower positions in the food chain.

Step-by-step explanation:

In discussing biomagnification, toxins climb the food chain as one organism eats another. With this in mind, the organism you would most want to avoid to limit your intake of toxins would be the tuna (tertiary consumer).

This is because the tuna, as a tertiary consumer, feeds on other consumers, leading to a higher accumulation of toxins. The toxins accumulate because they are not easily degraded or excreted and thus progressively magnify within the food chain. This process is known as biomagnification.

On the contrary, seaweed as a producer and urchin as a primary consumer, accumulate relatively fewer toxins. The sculpin, as a secondary consumer, would have more toxins than the urchin or seaweed, but less than a tertiary consumer like the tuna.

Learn more about biomagnification