1.

A crane had DDT level as 5 ppm in its body. What would happen to the population of such birds? Explain giving reasons. ORDDT content in the water of a lake that supplies drinking water to the nearby villages, is found to be 0.003 ppm. The kingfishers of that area were reported to have 2 ppm of DDT. Why has the concentration increased in these birds? What harm will this cause to the bird population? Name the phenomenon.

Answer»

DDT being a toxic substance gets accumulated in the organism and passes on to the next higher trophic level because it cannot be metabolised or excreted. Thus, concentration of DDT has increased in the birds in the given case. The high concentration of DDT disturbs the calcium metabolism in birds, causes thinning of eggshells, their premature breaking and eventually causes a decline in the bird population.

The phenomenon is called biomagnification.



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