Question

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 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.
short and no points and at a 6th grade level

Answer 1

When DDT was sprayed, the chemical settled on and was taken up by producers like plants and algae at the bottom of a food chain. Small animals ate those producers, then secondary consumers ate the small animals, and biomagnification (the build-up of the chemical up the food chain) caused more DDT to collect in each level. Bald eagles, as tertiary consumers, ate contaminated fish and birds and ended up with the highest DDT levels, which made their eggshells thin.