What is the process of accumulation of chemicals in higher trophic levels called?

Correct option is C

Biological magnification (Biomagnification) refers to the process in which toxic substances, such as pesticides, heavy metals (like mercury and lead), and industrial pollutants, accumulate in higher concentrations at each successive trophic level in a food chain. These substances do not break down easily and get stored in the fatty tissues of organisms.

• Example: DDT (a pesticide) accumulates in small aquatic organisms → eaten by fish → consumed by birds or humans, leading to harmful effects like thinner eggshells in birds (e.g., eagles, falcons) or neurological damage in humans.
• Higher Trophic Levels (Predators) suffer the most because they accumulate the highest concentration of toxins.

• Biomagnification: As these organisms are consumed by predators, the concentration of the toxic substance increases in the tissues of the predator. This process continues up the food chain, resulting in significantly higher concentrations of the pollutant in top predators compared to lower trophic levels.
• Bioaccumulation: When an organism absorbs a toxic substance at a rate faster than that at which the substance is lost, it leads to accumulation within the organism.