Talk:Bioaccumulation
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--Alex 13:30, 12 July 2006 (UTC)
This seems to be a slightly confused article. Bioconcentration is sometimes used as a synonym for Bioaccumulation, but if I interpret the definitions correctly, this is probably a misunderstanding due to difficulties in understanding what a mass balance is. If I understand correctly:
Bioconcentration: Concentration is higher in organism than outside Bioaccumulation: A substance accumulates (over time) in an organism
Bioconcentration=Bioaccumulation? Well not necessarily. Consider for example the salt concentration in a lake-living organism. Its salt concentration might very well be higher than that of the surrounding, but it doesn't accumulate.
Different sources (e.g. encyclopedias) convey a different message here and it might even be the case that the definitions of Bioconcentration and Bioaccumulation varies with context. Some help from an expert is probably needed to sort this out.
However, what should be clearly separated from the other two is Biomagnification. Biomagnification: A substance accumulates in food chain, i.e. the concentration is higher the higher up in the food chain you look. So DDE (metabolite of DDT) is higher in small birds than in worms and still higher in eagles Saittam April 3, 2006 22:10 CET
