bioaccumulation

(bī′ō-ə-kyo͞om′yə-lā′shən)

The accumulation of a substance, such as a toxic chemical, in various tissues of a living organism: the bioaccumulation of mercury in fish.

bi′o·ac·cu′mu·la′tive adj.

bioaccumulation

The accumulation of chemicals or nutrients in a living organism against an inorganic background (e.g., the external environment), which is due to a high partition coefficient and resistance to degradation by the bioaccumulating organism.

bioaccumulation

the process of concentration of chemical contaminents in animal tissues as they move higher up the food chain e.g. pesticides and heavy metals stored in fatty tissues are passed on from one predator to a higher predator, the resulting concentrations being increasingly harmful and most so to the top predators.

Collins Dictionary of Biology, 3rd ed. © W. G. Hale, V. A. Saunders, J. P. Margham 2005

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