noun · academic
biomagnification
UK/ˌbaɪəʊˌmæɡnɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/US/ˌbaɪoʊˌmæɡnəfɪˈkeɪʃən/bi·o·mag·ni·FI·ca·tion
The process by which concentrations of toxic substances increase in organisms at higher levels of a food chain.
Examples
“Biomagnification explains why large predatory fish often contain high levels of mercury.”
“Pesticides can biomagnify, endangering both wildlife and human consumers.”
“Reducing pollutant discharge upstream helps limit biomagnification in fisheries.”
Band 8 sentence
“Because of biomagnification, top predators often have contaminant concentrations hundreds of times higher than the water they swim in.”
Collocations
- biomagnification in the food chain
- prevent biomagnification
Word family
Common mistakes
use 'bioaccumulation' interchangeably with 'biomagnification'→biomagnification
say 'bio-magnification' with a hyphen or split the word awkwardly→biomagnification
Say it for a higher band
5build-up of chemicals→6bioaccumulation→7+biomagnification
Synonyms
bioaccumulation
Easily confused
bioaccumulation
“Small fish bioaccumulate pesticides, which then biomagnify in larger predators.”
Related words
Learn this word with the rest of its set, and get reminded at the right time.
In Environment & Climate
Learn it with its set