Cambridge O Level Biology · Syllabus 5090 · Relationships of Organisms with One Another and with the Environment
Pesticide Effects on Food Webs
What is Pesticide Effects on Food Webs?
The consequences for non-target organisms when insecticides or herbicides are applied. An insecticide reduces the population of a target pest but may also kill other insects, removing food for the animals that ate them and disrupting the food web. A herbicide kills target weeds but may also remove non-target producers, reducing food and habitat for other species and lowering biodiversity. Pesticides that are not broken down remain in organisms that absorb or eat them, so their concentration can build up within an organism and can become greater at each successive trophic level.
This definition is part of the Relationships of Organisms with One Another and with the Environment chapter in Cambridge O Level Biology.