DDT, when introduced into an ecosystem, would first be absorbed by producers, such as plants and algae, that contaminated the soil and water. As primary consumers, herbivores ingested these contaminated plants, leading to an accumulation of DDT in their bodies. This concentration increased as secondary consumers, like small mammals or fish, fed on the contaminated herbivores, and further biomagnification occurred when tertiary consumers, such as bald eagles, preyed upon these secondary consumers. Consequently, the bald eagles accumulated high levels of DDT in their bodies, resulting in harmful effects like egg shell thinning.
DDT was developed as a synthetic insecticide. It was used to kill insects across the United States. In 1972, DDT was banned for use in the United States because it was found to cause egg shell thinning in bald eagle. In 3-5 sentences explain how introducing DDT into an ecosystem allowed it to make its way into the bodies of bald eagle. Be sure to use the terms food chain, producers, biomagnification, secondary consumers, and tertiary consumers in your answer.(4 points)
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DDT entered the ecosystem when it was sprayed on plants (producers) and accumulated in their tissues, beginning its journey up the food chain through a process called biomagnification, where the chemical becomes more concentrated at each level. Small animals and insects that ate the contaminated plants became food for secondary consumers like fish and small mammals, which had even higher concentrations of DDT in their tissues. Finally, bald eagles, as tertiary consumers at the top of the food chain, accumulated the highest concentrations of DDT when they ate these secondary consumers, leading to devastating effects on their reproduction through eggshell thinning.
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