Why can the deposition of small quantities of some pollutants give rise to large-scale disruption of ecological systems? Evaluate the importance of sublethal toxicity of a pollutant on ecosystems.
This may happen due to biomagnification. It is the process by which a compound (such as a pollutant or pesticide) increases its concentration in the tissues of organisms as it travels up the food chain. In other words, when there is a very small quantity of pollutants its concentration is amplified at every trophic level.
Sublethal effects are defined as biological, physiological, demographic or behavioural effects on individuals or populations that survive exposure to a toxicant at lethal or sublethal dose/concentration. A sublethal dose/concentration is defined as inducing no apparent mortality in the experimental population.
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