Compare and Contrast

Process in Plants and Animals:

Regulation of Body Fluids
 Definition of terms
 Internal Environmental – the fluid environment that bathes the cell (extracellular
fluids) compose of the interstitial fluid and blood.
 Osmolarity – solute concentration expressed in milliosmoles per liter of
solution (mOsm/L)
 Osmosis - the movement of water from a region of higher osmolarity to a
region of lower osmolarity across a selectively permeable membrane.
 Osmoregulation – the regulation of water and ion balance.
 Excretion - the elimination of metabolic wastes including nitrogenous wastes
produced from the breakdown of protiens, this process also helps in the
regulation of water and ion balance.
 2 types of animals based on the osmolarity of their
body fluids
 Osmoconformers - allow the osmolarity of their body fluids to match that of
the environment;
A. These include most marine invertebrates with the body fluids that are
generally hyperosmotic to their surroundings.
B. Because their bodies are isosmotic to seawater, they consume little or no
energy in maintaining water balance.
 Osmoregulators – keep the osmolarity of vody fluids different from that of
the environment;
A. These include most marine vertebrates, birds, mammals.
B. Either their discharge water hypotonic environment of they take in water
in a hypertonic environment.
 3 types of nitrogenous wastes excreted by animals;
 Ammonia - the primary nitrogenous waste of aquatic invertebrates, teleosts,
and larval amphibians.
A. It is readily soluble in water but is also highly toxic
B. It can be excreted from the body only in dilute solutions.
 Urea - produced by mammals, most amphibians, some reptiles, some marine
fishes, and some terrestrial invertebrates.
A. it is formed by combining ammonia with bicarbonate ion (HCO3) and
converting the product into urea.
B. Although its formation requires more energy compared to ammonia, it is
about 100,000x less toxic than ammonia.
C. Its excretion requires only about 10% as much water compared to
ammonia.
 Uric acid – excreted by birds, insects and terrestrial reptiles.
A. It is relatively nontoxic but more energetically expensive to produce the urea.
B. It is largely insoluble in water and it is excreted as a semisolid paste or precipitate with very little water loss

 Excretory system in invertebrates

 Cell surface or