A medium-sized lake supports a small population of bald eagles (birds of prey). A bald eagle, which weighs on average 2.5 kg and has a lifespan of 25 years in the wild, eats 2 striped bass (Morone saxatilis) a week. The bass weigh on average 2 kg each and they live for approximately 7 years in the wild. The bass feed on caddisfly larvae, which on average eat 2.5 kg of caddisfly larvae in a year. The caddisfly larvae, in turn, feed on aquatic plant material and eat an average of 14 g of plant material in their lifetime. The lake is contaminated with mercury. The aquatic plants in the lake take up the mercury at a concentration of 0.0005 mg DDT/g plant. Assume this is a worst-case situation where all of the DDT consumed within this food chain stays within the body of the consumer. What is the concentration of DDT consumed by the caddisfly larvae? Show your work. What is the concentration of DDT consumed by the striped bass? Show your work. What is the concentration of DDT consumed by the eagle? Show your work.
A medium-sized lake supports a small population of ospreys (birds of prey; Pandion haliaetus). An osprey, which weighs on average 2 kg and has a lifespan of 20 years in the wild, eats 1 lake trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) a week. The trout weigh on average 2 kg each and they live for approximately 10 years in the wild. The trout feed on stonefly larvae, which on average eat 3.5 kg of stonefly in a year. The stonefly larvae weigh 0.5 g, which in turn feed on aquatic plant material and eat an average of 12 g of plant material in their short lifespan. The lake is contaminated with PCBs (polychlorinated biphenols), which mainly reside in the sediment at the bottom of the lake. The aquatic plants in the lake use the sediment as their growing substrate and thus take up the PCBs. The concentration of PCBs in the plants is 0.0009 mg PCB/g plant. Assume this is a worst-case situation where all of the DDT consumed within this food chain stays within the body of the consumer. What is the concentration of DDT consumed by the stonefly larvae? Show your work. What is the concentration of DDT consumed by the lake trout? Show your work. What is the concentration of DDT consumed by the osprey? Show your work.