Class 10 Botany simulations · Our Environment

Food chain: energy flow and biological magnification

Follow energy and a non-biodegradable pesticide up a food chain.

Open the simulation

What to notice

Energy shrinks at every step, so food chains are short; a pesticide like DDT is not broken down and builds up, so top consumers carry the most.

Key relation

Energy passed on ≈ 10% per level; pesticide concentration × (magnification) per level

Try this

Make the pesticide in the water only 0.02 ppm. How much reaches the top consumer?

What you can change

• Energy fixed by producers: 1000 to 100000 J
• Pesticide in the water: 0.01 to 1 ppm
• Build-up factor per level: 2 to 20 ×

More in Our Environment

• Decomposition of detritus
• Pyramid of energy (10 per cent law)
• Gross and net primary productivity

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