Osmoregulation Flashcards
3 reasons why water is important?
○ All animals are mostly water and all food is mostly water
○ Enzymatic reactions much be done in an aqueous environment
- Gas exchange in the lungs requires water
Osmolarity
Concentration of all solutes in a liquid measured in milliosmoles (mOsM)
Bloods total and highest solute concentrations
Total is ~300mOsM, highest is sodium at ~140mOsM
Seawater and Freshwater Osmolarities
Seawater ~1000mOsM
Freshwater <5mOsM
In marine environments, animals tend to gain _______ and lose ________
Salts, water
Freshwater animals tend to gain ______ and lose ______
Water, salts
Terrestrial animals tend to lose ______
Water
Isosmotic Definition and Effects on the Cell
Concentration of solutes outside of the cell is equal to concentration of solutes inside the cell; there is no effect on the cell
Hyperosmotic Definition and Effects on the Cell
Concentration of solutes outside of the cell is greater than concentration of solutes inside the cell; water leaves the cell/solute enters causing it to shrivel up
Hypo-Osmotic Definition and Effects on the Cell
Concentration of solutes outside of the cell is less than concentration of solutes inside the cell ; water going into the cell/solute leaves and may cause it to burst
Osmoconformers
Change their bodies osmolarity similar to their environment (many invertebrates)
Osmoregulators
Osmolarity is constant regardless of the environment (most vertebrates)
Ionoconformers
Exert little control over ion profile within the extracellular space (many invertebrates)
Ionoregulators
Control ion profile within their extracellular space (most vertebrates)
How do freshwater fish deal with changing osmolarities/ionic changes in their environments?
Freshwater fish gain water and lose salt, and they solve this problem by ejecting water via urine that is mostly water from its kidneys
How do saltwater fish deal with changing osmolarities/ionic changes in their environments?
Saltwater fish are always gaining salt and losing water, and they fix this via urine that is very concentrated with salt
4 characteristics that make transport unique for epithelial cells
- Asymmetrical distribution of membrane transports
a. Solutes are selectively transported across membrane- Cells interconnected to form impermeable sheet of tissue
a. Little leakage between cells - High cell diversity within tissue
- Abundant mitochondria
Large energy (ATP) supply
- Cells interconnected to form impermeable sheet of tissue
Transcellular transpor
Movement through the cell across membranes
Paracellular transport
Movement between cells
Types of transporters
○ Na+/K+ATPase
§ Can be with or against the gradient
○ Ion Channels (Cl-, K+, Na+)
§ Ion channels are not energy dependent
§ Move with concentration gradient
○ Electroneutral Cotransporters
§ Transfer ions of opposite charges to flow in the same direction
○ Electroneutral exchangers
- Transfer ions of opposite charge to flow in opposite direction
How to terrestrial animals reduce water flux
○ They cover external surfaces with layer of hydrophobic molecules (oils)
§ Mucus (amphibians, frogs, salamanders, etc.)
§ Cornified stratum corneum with keratin
□ Hard outer layer (turtle shell, hair, feathers)
□ Terrestrial amniotes
□ Also sebaceous tissues
§ Cuticle with chitin
□ Arthropods
□ Shiny covering of beetles is covered with chitin
Integumentary System
- Stratum corneum on the outside, under those are the corneocytes that replace them
- Next is keratinocyte
○ Makes keratin
○ All of these are apart of the epidermis - Basement membrane is next
- Next is keratinocyte
- Blood vessels (dermis) is last
Sources of water for terrestrial animals
- Diet, including the water in food
- Metabolic water
- Water generated as a final step in oxidative phosphorylation (we don’t get much from this)
- Metabolic water
Ammonioteles
(typically aquatic) animals that make most of their nitrogenous waste in the form of ammonia