What term describes the process in which a substance becomes more concentrated as it moves up the food chain?

Biological magnification refers to the increasing concentration of substances, such as toxins or pollutants, in the tissues of organisms as one moves up the food chain. This phenomenon occurs because organisms at higher trophic levels consume multiple prey from the levels below them. As a result, the contaminants in the prey organisms accumulate in the bodies of the predators.

For example, a small fish may ingest a small amount of a pollutant. When a larger fish eats several of these smaller fish, the pollutant accumulates not only from each individual fish consumed but also from a higher concentration retained in their bodies. Consequently, the larger fish ends up with a much greater concentration of the pollutant compared to the smaller fish. This process can have significant ecological and health implications, particularly for top predators, including humans.

The other terms do not accurately describe this specific process. Biodegradation refers to the breakdown of organic substances by microorganisms, which does not involve concentration changes. Food chain dynamics generally encompass how energy and nutrients flow through a food chain, while ecosystem equilibrium describes a state of balance within an ecosystem rather than focusing on the concentration changes of substances in living organisms.