Sponsored By: The White Feather Foundation

and Anonymous Donor

Bioaccumulation

©Plastic Oceans Foundation 2017

• Interdependence• Bioaccumulation• Toxin• Microplastic

Science and Literacy - think of a sentence using the word “depend” or “accumulate”.

Interdependence and Bioaccumulation

Keywords

Level of challenge

Learning Outcomes

Describe how toxic materials can

accumulate in a food web and describe the interdependence of

organisms in a food web.

Explain why toxic materials have

greater effect on top predators in a food chain and explain

how organisms are interdependent.

State that organisms depend on each other and toxic substances can

bioaccumulate up the food chain.

GoldSilverBronze

Explain why toxic materials have greater effect on top predators in a food chain and explain how organisms are interdependent.

Describe how toxic materials can accumulate in a food web and describe the

interdependence of organisms in a food web.

State that organisms depend on each other and toxic substances can

bioaccumulate up the food chain.

GoldSilverBronze

How do you think this pollution affects the animals living here?

Explain why toxic materials have greater effect on top predators in a food chain and explain how organisms are interdependent.

Describe how toxic materials can accumulate in a food web and describe the

interdependence of organisms in a food web.

State that organisms depend on each other and toxic substances can

bioaccumulate up the food chain.

GoldSilverBronze

What about the pollution we can’t see?

Explain why toxic materials have greater effect on top predators in a food chain and explain how organisms are interdependent.

Describe how toxic materials can accumulate in a food web and describe the

interdependence of organisms in a food web.

State that organisms depend on each other and toxic substances can

bioaccumulate up the food chain.

GoldSilverBronze

Why do people want to ban ‘microbeads’?

Read the article about microbeads and their use in the cosmetics industry

Explain why toxic materials have greater effect on top predators in a food chain and explain how organisms are interdependent.

Describe how toxic materials can accumulate in a food web and describe the

interdependence of organisms in a food web.

State that organisms depend on each other and toxic substances can

bioaccumulate up the food chain.

GoldSilverBronze

Answers

Q 1.

Q 2.

Q 3.

Shower gel / Toothpaste / Face scrubs

Plastic is too small to be filtered out of the sewage system and ends up in the water courses / Plastic soaks up toxins from the water / The plastic is eaten by animals and the toxins built up in the food chain.

Write a letter to explain the dangers of using microbeads / Suggest alternatives such as sugar or salt Some people think the microbeads don’t have any benefit to the skin

Explain why toxic materials have greater effect on top predators in a food chain and explain how organisms are interdependent.

Describe how toxic materials can accumulate in a food web and describe the

interdependence of organisms in a food web.

State that organisms depend on each other and toxic substances can

bioaccumulate up the food chain.

GoldSilverBronze

Answers – Support

Q 1.

Q 2.

What are microbeads used for? Cleaning and beauty products. In beauty products they remove dead skin to make the skin smoother. They are also found in toothpaste.

Why are the scientists concerned? Plastic soaks up toxins from the water. The microbeads are so small that they are not filtered out in the sewage system so end up in our water courses and eventually the sea. The toxins build up in the fish we eat and cause harmful medical conditions.

Explain why toxic materials have greater effect on top predators in a food chain and explain how organisms are interdependent.

Describe how toxic materials can accumulate in a food web and describe the

interdependence of organisms in a food web.

State that organisms depend on each other and toxic substances can

bioaccumulate up the food chain.

GoldSilverBronze

Answers – Support

Q 3. What could you suggest to Kate she does to make her product less harmful?

Use salt or sugar as a substitute for plastic.

Explain why toxic materials have greater effect on top predators in a food chain and explain how organisms are interdependent.

Describe how toxic materials can accumulate in a food web and describe the

interdependence of organisms in a food web.

State that organisms depend on each other and toxic substances can

bioaccumulate up the food chain.

GoldSilverBronze

Interdependence

Organisms in a population, or the same area, are dependent on each other for survival.

The term for how organisms rely on each other is interdependence.

Explain why toxic materials have greater effect on top predators in a food chain and explain how organisms are interdependent.

Describe how toxic materials can accumulate in a food web and describe the

interdependence of organisms in a food web.

State that organisms depend on each other and toxic substances can

bioaccumulate up the food chain.

GoldSilverBronze

Interdependence

Marine animals can become trapped and killed by plastic pollution and other waste.

Explain why toxic materials have greater effect on top predators in a food chain and explain how organisms are interdependent.

Describe how toxic materials can accumulate in a food web and describe the

interdependence of organisms in a food web.

State that organisms depend on each other and toxic substances can

bioaccumulate up the food chain.

GoldSilverBronze

Interdependence

Discuss how reducing the population of Elephant seals would affect the organisms in the food web

Explain why toxic materials have greater effect on top predators in a food chain and explain how organisms are interdependent.

Describe how toxic materials can accumulate in a food web and describe the

interdependence of organisms in a food web.

State that organisms depend on each other and toxic substances can

bioaccumulate up the food chain.

GoldSilverBronze

Interdependence Checkpoint

State an organism which would increase its population if the number of leopard seals went down

Describe how reducing the number of leopard seals would affect the population size of the squid

Explain how the number of krill would be affected if the number of leopard seals reduced.

Explain why toxic materials have greater effect on top predators in a food chain and explain how organisms are interdependent.

Describe how toxic materials can accumulate in a food web and describe the

interdependence of organisms in a food web.

State that organisms depend on each other and toxic substances can

bioaccumulate up the food chain.

GoldSilverBronze

Organism Average toxic plastic counters per organism

Zooplankton

Cod

Leopard Seal

Killer Whale

Activity – Bioaccumulation

What happens to the amount of toxins as you go up the food chain? What does this tell you about the

amount of toxins affecting animals at the top of the food chain?

Humans eat on average 17kg of fish a year. Where are humans in the food chain?

Explain why toxic materials have greater effect on top predators in a food chain and explain how organisms are interdependent.

Describe how toxic materials can accumulate in a food web and describe the

interdependence of organisms in a food web.

State that organisms depend on each other and toxic substances can

bioaccumulate up the food chain.

GoldSilverBronze

Organism Average toxic plastic counters per organism

Zooplankton

Cod

Leopard Seal

Killer Whale

Follow up to Bioaccumulation Activity

1. Describe what happened to the amount of toxins as you go up the food chain

2. Explain why the Killer Whale contains more toxins than a cod.3. Draw a bar graph to show the results of this activity.

Explain why toxic materials have greater effect on top predators in a food chain and explain how organisms are interdependent.

Describe how toxic materials can accumulate in a food web and describe the

interdependence of organisms in a food web.

State that organisms depend on each other and toxic substances can

bioaccumulate up the food chain.

GoldSilverBronze

Final Task - Card sort

Sort the cards into the right order to explain how toxins from plastic can bioaccumulate up

the food chain.

Explain why toxic materials have greater effect on top predators in a food chain and explain how organisms are interdependent.

Describe how toxic materials can accumulate in a food web and describe the

interdependence of organisms in a food web.

State that organisms depend on each other and toxic substances can

bioaccumulate up the food chain.

GoldSilverBronze

Summary

Microbeads are small pieces of plastic which adsorb and carry toxins harmful to health

•Organisms depend on each other in the food web

•Toxic chemicals can bioaccumulate up the food

chain become most harmful to the top predators

Level of challenge

Learning Outcomes

I can describe how toxic materials can

accumulate in a food web and describe the interdependence of

organisms in a food web.

Explain why toxic materials have

greater effect on top predators in a food chain and explain

how organisms are interdependent.

State that organisms depend on each other and toxic substances can

bioaccumulate up the food chain.

GoldSilverBronze

Explain why toxic materials have greater effect on top predators in a food chain and explain how organisms are interdependent.

Describe how toxic materials can accumulate in a food web and describe the

interdependence of organisms in a food web.

State that organisms depend on each other and toxic substances can

bioaccumulate up the food chain.

GoldSilverBronze

Microbeads – extra information

Plastics contain/are formulated with chemicals that are known to be toxic, and cause a broad range of effects including critical

diseases and health conditions•

Plastic also attracts chemicals the moment it enters the ocean•

The toxins plastic adsorbs, accumulate in their body tissue, particularly fat and muscle tissue, can bioaccumulate up the

marine food chain•

These toxic substances are associated with a range of health and disease outcomes for marine life, particularly organisms at the top

of the food chain, such as humans

Sponsored By: The White Feather Foundation

and Anonymous Donor