diffusion in fish gills
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TRANSCRIPT
Gas Exchange & Circulation
Chapter 4
Gas Exchange in Animals
Why is gas exchange important?
C6H12O6 + O2 Energy + CO2 + H2O
Energy + CO2 + H2O C6H12O6 + O2
Photosynthesis:
Respiration:
How can an organism get O2 into its body?
Diffusion.
How can an organism get O2 into its body?
For very small organisms, diffusion is fast enough to supply O2.
O2 use is correlated with body mass (or volume), but diffusion rate depends on surface area...
and larger organisms have lower surface area/volume ratios.
surface area/volume ratio
How do animals get O2?How do animals get O2? Diffusion alone is enough for
animals up to about 1 mm thick...
depending on rate of O2 use. Larger, faster animals need
tricks to speed up diffusion.
O2 diffuses from high concentration to low
concentration.
Speeding up diffusion
Gases diffuse from higher to lower concentration.
Concentraion must be lower in organism than in environment.
Will organism get enough O2? Depends on rate of O2 use and diffusion.
Large, active animals have tricks to speed up diffusion.
Big aquatic animals usually have gills to provide surface area for gas
exchange.
Fish usually need more
oxygen than invertebrates;
they have more gill area than
most invertebrates.
Faster fish have bigger gills.
index of relative gill surface area
QuickTime™ and a TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor are needed to see this picture.
Mackerel: 2551
Toadfish: 137
Speeding up diffusion
1. Increase gill surface area; have thin gill epithelium.
2.Pump water across gills.
3.Pump blood through gills.
Operculum in Fish1-way flow of water across gills
How fish speed up diffusion: ventilation
Fish use energy to pump water across gills (ventilation).
At low speed, opercular pumping is used.
Counter current of blood flow over gills
Fish gill structure
Countercurrent exchange of O2 in
gills
Water & blood flow opposite directions.
This maximizes the concentration gradient & speeds up diffusion.
Equilibrium is never reached.
Countercurrent exchange of O2 in fish gills