The diagram below represents a marine food web and a process that can harm the human population. Each circle represents an organism and the smaller dots inside them represent a toxic substance. What is being represented and how does it harm the population? A pyramid representing a marine food web. The lowest level shows 11 white circles each with one dot inside. The middle level shows four white circles with two or three dots inside. The top level shows one white circle with 11 dots inside.
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The diagram represents biological half-life, in which toxins build up in organisms higher up on the food chain, and this can negatively impact humans who consume the organisms and the toxic substance.
The diagram represents biomagnification, in which toxins build up in organisms higher up on the food chain, and this can negatively impact humans who consume the organisms and the toxic substance.
The diagram represents the process by which different organisms prey upon each other; this can impact the human population by reducing the number of organisms that do not contain the toxin.
The diagram represents the way that toxins are metabolized by living organisms, with those at greater trophic levels able to metabolize more efficiently than those at lower levels. This means that those at higher tropic levels are safer for humans to consume compared to the organisms at lower trophic levels.