THS General Biology
Unit 1-Our Environment
2015-2016
Name: _______________________________________________ Hour: __________
Mercury Biomagnification Activity
Background Information:
Biomagnification is the process by which chemicals are passed on throughout organisms
in an ecosystem as they feed on one another. As the chemicals pass through the food chains
in an ecosystem, the higher level heterotrophs end up consuming and containing higher
concentrations of these chemicals, which can sometimes be fatal or cause severe health
problems. In this activity we will be simulating the biomagnification of Mercury throughout an
oceanic ecosystem.
Mercury is a metal which can be released into the environment naturally, but occurs in
higher concentrations when humans burn and heat up different metals or coal. The mercury
pollution released from these activities can then disperse into the air, the water, and land
systems of nearby environments.
Mercury is known to have serious effects on living organisms, when ingested in large
quantities. Developing infants and small children are at the highest risk of the devastating
effects of mercury poisoning. The effects of mercury poisoning range from neurological
disease and defect, to the underdevelopment of the senses (vision, hearing, touch, taste).
Materials:
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Silver paper clips represent Mercury
Green paper clips represent Algae (the producers or autotrophs)
Blue represents Zooplankton (which eat the algae)
Yellow represents Small Fish (which eat the zooplankton).
Red represents the Large Fish / Shark (which eat the small fish).
The mercury will be impacting the following food chain:
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THS General Biology
Unit 1-Our Environment
2015-2016
Procedure:
1. Roll a die  This tells you how much MERCURY your single Algae ingests or absorbs through its
environment.
a. For Example: If you roll a 2, you will attach 2 silver paper clips to a green paper clip because
your algae will have consumed 2 parts of mercury.
What number did you roll?
This means that each
Algae absorbed how many
parts of Mercury?
Now put together your paper clips.
2. Roll die again  This tells you how many ALGAE your Zooplankton eat.
a. For Example: If you roll a 3, you will have to make 2 MORE algae paperclips, each with the right
amount of silver mercury paperclips.
b. (This shows that your 1 Zooplankton have eaten 3 total Algae, which each ate x-parts of
mercury.)
What number did you roll?
This means that each
Zooplankton ate how
many Algae?
Now put together your paper clips.
(Remembering how much Mercury each of your Algae consumed from Step #1.)
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THS General Biology
Unit 1-Our Environment
2015-2016
3. Roll die again  This tells you how many ZOOPLANKTON your Small Fish eat.
a. For Example: If you roll a 2, you will have to make 1 MORE zooplankton which each have the
right number of algae and mercury.
b. (This shows that your 1 Small Fish has eaten 2 total Zooplankton, which each ate x-number of
algae, which each contained x-parts of mercury.)
What number did you roll?
This means that each
Small Fish ate how many
Zooplankton?
Now put together your paper clips.
(Remembering how much Mercury each of your Algae consumed from Step #1, and how many Algae your
Zooplankton consumed from Step #2.)
4. Roll die again  This tells you how many SMALL FISH, your Large Fish / Shark eats.
a. For Example: If you roll a 5, you have to make 4 MORE small fish which each have the right
number of zooplankton, algae, and mercury.
b. (This shows that your 1 Large Fish has eaten a total of 5 Small Fish, which each ate x-number of
zooplankton, which each ate x-number of algae, which each contained x-parts of mercury.)
What number did you roll?
This means that each Large
Fish ate how many Small
Fish?
Now put together your paper clips.
(Remembering how much Mercury each of your Algae consumed from Step #1, and how many Algae your
Zooplankton consumed from Step #2, and how many Zooplankton your Small Fish consumed from Step #3.)
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THS General Biology
Unit 1-Our Environment
2015-2016
Data & Analysis
1. Copy down the “Amount Consumed” (or the number you rolled) at each level in the table below:
Organism
Algae
Zooplankton
Small Fish
Large Fish
Trophic
Level
Amount Consumed
(Dice Roll)
Total Amount
of Mercury
(silver paper clips)
1
2
3
4
2. Now in the above data table fill in the TOTAL AMOUNT of Mercury (or silver paper clips) you had at each level.
This would be the total # of Silver Paper clips you had attached at the end of each step. 
3. Graph how much mercury was found at EACH trophic level in your activity.
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THS General Biology
Unit 1-Our Environment
2015-2016
Conclusion Questions:
1. As you go up the food chain the amount of energy decreases. What is happening to the amount of
toxins?
2. Imagine that one Eagle eats 3 big fish what would you predict the amount of mercury would be in this
organism?
3. Some politicians are arguing saying that the mercury levels being poured into the environment are not
harmful to the organisms that are directly consuming them. They site some scientific study showing
just a small amount of toxins in lower level organisms is not harmful to them so why would they be
harmful to us they say. Why is their logic incorrect?
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THS General Biology
Unit 1-Our Environment
2015-2016
4. Mercury bioaccumulates because it is not water-soluble, so organisms can’t urinate it out of their
systems. Instead, every time they eat something with mercury, it accumulates in their bodies, usually
in their fatty tissues. Which of the following toxins would bioaccumulate?
(HINT: Google on your phone which of the following are NOT water-soluble! )
a. Caffeine
b. DDT
c. Lead
5. A. Name some organisms in our living environment that might suffer the most from bioaccumulation.
B. Explain WHY you think those organisms would suffer the most.
6. Biomagnification is a process that can impact Climate Change. Use your understanding of the factors
that impact climate, and the effects of biomagnification, in order to EXPLAIN WHY/HOW
biomagnification could impact climate change.
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