BIOL 240W Study Guide - Final Guide: Optic Chiasm, Hormone Replacement Therapy, Pattern Formation
Document Summary
Review sheet for biol 240w exam ii: excretion/osmoregulation. : general term for processes by which animals control solute concentrations and balance water gain/loss. : they do because it balances out the uptake/loss of water and solutes. Cells: differences between an osmoconformer and osmoregulator. Osmoconformers: are isoosmotic with their surroundings, no tendency to lose/gain water, and do not regulate their osmolarity. Only marine organisms, tend to live in environments that are fairly stable in solute concentration, many marine invertebrates(osmoconformers) Osmoregulators: expend energy to control water uptake and loss in a hyperosmotic or hypoosmotic environment. Must discharge or take in water depending on the osmolarity of the environment. Osmoregulation allows organisms to live in a wide range of habitats including freshwater and terrestrial habitats. Main difference: an osmoconformer do not regulate their osmolarity; there is an equal movement of water between the animal and its environment. Stenohaline animals that cannot tolerate a wide range of changes in external osmolarity.
