In this article we will discuss the effects of bio amplification upon wildlife, food chain, economics, and ultimately potential to impact human health. Firstly, we can consider the effects upon the wildlife and animals. The pollutants that bio-amplification occurs for are mostly man made and toxic. They are also fat soluble. This property is crucial in bio-amplification. The fact that the toxins are fat soluble means that they will not pass out of the animals system through normal bodily processes. Thus, many animals die because of the toxins that are passed on to them by the process of bio-amplification.

Especially the animals that are located higher up in the food chain experience the highest dose of this toxin and thus are more likely to die as a result. As these animals higher in the food chain die, the populations of their prey will increase rapidly. This will mean shrinking populations of the animals located under the prey. This illustrates how the removal of a top predator will unbalance the food chain in a very harmful way.

Also, this process causes harm to our economics. Some of the top industries in the world deal with food harvest or production. Bio-amplification in the seas can cause massive harms in our fishing industries. So, this means that the toxins dumped into our water system can be very harmful on a larger scale. At last, it is also important to note that the process of bio-amplification in the wild can influence human health. Humans are undoubtedly the top predators in the food chains. However, we have developed our food sources in a way that we control our food sources well by raising them in isolated man-made habitats cut off from nature. Thus, one may think that we have protected ourselves from bio-amplification. However, despite this, the threat from the oceans is very real. Also, we consume vegetables which may have been affected by the toxins. Also, by removing top predators from many food chains, the pests towards the bottom of the food chain multiply in their numbers. Also humans depend on many species found in the wild (ex. lady bugs and bees) to protect us from these pests. So, this is another indirect way in which food chain dynamics impact human life. There are many other unknown food chain interactions which may be revealed if the food chain is unbalanced. The food chains exist on a very fragile balance and if they are disturbed then there may be unknown consequences. 

Picture Credits: https://www.ec.gc.ca/mercure-mercury/default.asp?lang=En&n=D721AC1F-1 (environment canada)