If there were a toxin being absorbed from the water bt the red algae, which species in the food chain would have the highest concentration of the toxin?

Question

1)the black grouper
2)the blacktip reef shark
3)the red algae
4)the surgeonfish

Answer 1

In a food chain, toxins can accumulate through a process known as biomagnification. This occurs when organisms at higher trophic levels consume those at lower levels, leading to a higher concentration of the toxin in the organisms higher up the food chain.

In your example, the red algae would absorb the toxin from the water. The surgeonfish (which may feed on the algae) would then consume the toxin, and when a black grouper eats the surgeonfish, and then when the blacktip reef shark eats the grouper, the concentration of the toxin increases at each trophic level.

Therefore, the species in the food chain with the highest concentration of the toxin would be:

2) the blacktip reef shark

This is because it is highest in the food chain and would accumulate the most toxins through the process of biomagnification.