ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of models of organic chemical uptake and transfer in aquatic food webs. Two general classes of models are described: generic equilibrium models which are useful for screening analyses and provide insight into the principal mechanisms of chemical transport and accumulation, and site-specific models which may be time- and age-dependent. The principal parameters that must be determined for the calibration of the food web-sediment model may divided into three groups. The first group of parameters are associated with the organism physiology including weight, food conversion efficiency, growth rate, and specific consumption rate. The second group of parameters reflect the behavior of the chemical and include the uptake and excretion rates and the chemical assimilation efficiency. The variation is due largely to the assumed variation in chemical assimilation efficiency which was homolog dependent. The third group consists of the feeding preference factors.
