Given below are two statements: Statement I: Biomagnification occurs when the…
2023
Given below are two statements:
Statement I: Biomagnification occurs when the toxic burden from a large number of organisms at a higher trophic level is accumulated and concentrated in organisms at a lower trophic level.
Statement II: The effects of toxins are magnified in the environment through food webs.
In light of the above statements, choose the correct answer from the options given below.
Answer: D. Statement I is false but Statement II is true — ConceptBiomagnification is the progressive increase in the concentration of a persistent contaminant as it passes from prey to predators up successive trophic…
- A.
Both Statement I and Statement II are true
- B.
Both Statement I and Statement II are false
- C.
Statement I is true but Statement II is false
- D.
Statement I is false but Statement II is true
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D
Concept
Biomagnification is the progressive increase in the concentration of a persistent contaminant as it passes from prey to predators up successive trophic levels. Organisms at higher trophic levels can accumulate contaminants received from many organisms at lower trophic levels; the process does not describe concentration moving downward.
Application
Statement I places the accumulated toxic burden in organisms at a lower trophic level. This reverses the defining direction of biomagnification, so Statement I is false.
Statement II describes toxins becoming magnified through food webs. That is the central food-web effect of biomagnification, so Statement II is true.
Cross-check and contrast
Both Statement I and Statement II are true — this would require the downward trophic direction in Statement I to be valid, but biomagnification proceeds upward from prey to predators.
Both Statement I and Statement II are false — this overlooks that magnification through a food web, as stated in Statement II, is the defining environmental pattern.
Statement I is true but Statement II is false — this assigns each statement the opposite of its definition-based status.
Statement I is false but Statement II is true — this matches the upward trophic direction and the food-web magnification principle.
Therefore, Statement I is false and Statement II is true.