Human Impacts: Pollution
Pollution gains public interest upon catastrophic events, but slow, constant pollution is the common
Biological magnification: pollutant levels increase with increasing trophic level; may not be harmful in lower trophic level but impact health of higher trophic levels
Resistance to biological degradation: DDT, though not used since 1980’s, still accumulates in marine mammal tissue, even in Antarctica; plastics in the ocean are not degraded and ingested by turtles
Acid rain: air pollution lowers pH of rain: not only destruction forests but also destruction of lakes