Question

Using the food pyramid below, select the level that would exhibit the most concentrated levels of a persistent chemical agent.



herbivorous consumers


top carnivores


primary producers


3rd level carnivorous consumers

Answer 1

In a food pyramid, concentrations of persistent chemical agents tend to increase at each trophic level due to a process known as biomagnification. This means that organisms higher up in the food chain, such as top carnivores, accumulate higher levels of these substances compared to those lower down.

Given the options:

- **Primary Producers**: These are typically plants that do not have high concentrations of persistent chemicals compared to higher trophic levels.
- **Herbivorous Consumers**: Also known as primary consumers, they consume primary producers and may have some accumulation of chemicals, but it will be lower than higher carnivores.
- **3rd Level Carnivorous Consumers**: These would have higher concentrations compared to the previous levels but still will not be as concentrated as top carnivores.
- **Top Carnivores**: These have the highest levels of chemical accumulation because they are at the top of the food chain, consuming other carnivores that have already accumulated chemicals.

Therefore, the level that would exhibit the most concentrated levels of a persistent chemical agent would be:

**Top Carnivores**.