If a farmer used a pesticide to kill off the corn plants that were growing, which species would accumulate to greatest pesticide loads, as a result of biomagnification?
If a pesticide was used to kill off the corn plants, the species that would accumulate the greatest pesticide loads, as a result of biomagnification, would typically be higher up the food chain. Biomagnification is the process through which certain compounds, such as pesticides, increase in concentration as they move up the food chain. This occurs because the concentration of the pesticide in each organism accumulates and becomes more concentrated in the tissues of predators that consume organisms lower in the food chain.
In the specific scenario mentioned, the corn plants would likely be the base of the food chain. If the pesticide used is persistent and tends to accumulate in living organisms (e.g., organochlorine pesticides like DDT), it would be taken up by primary consumers, such as insects that feed on the corn plants. These insects may accumulate higher pesticide loads in their tissues.
Following the food chain, the organisms that would accumulate even greater pesticide loads would be the secondary consumers, which feed on the primary consumers (insects in this case). This could include birds that consume insects or mammals that eat insects or corn plants.
Finally, the organisms occupying the top of the food chain, such as higher-level predators like larger birds, mammals, or humans, would accumulate the greatest pesticide loads if they consume the secondary consumers. These top-level predators would have the highest concentrations of the pesticide due to the biomagnification process.