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Bony Fish Research Paper

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Bony fish have gills as part of their gas exchange system. They inhabit water. The amount of available oxygen in water in comparison to air is significantly less. This means that fish must be adapted to extracting oxygen from their environment more efficiently than that of other organisms. As a result of this they have a blood association system. Oxygen enters the organism through their open mouth and then passes over their gills and out of the gill cover back into the water. The respiratory gases enter/exit the organism through the thin gill filaments. (Biozone Notes 2015, Class Notes 2015 MC, SHC Mission Point Notes 2015, student.kc.school.nz)

This diagram shows the direction that water enters and exits the fish. It shows the gills, and displays how counter current flow works in relation to these.

In order to efficiently obtain as much oxygen from water as possible fish have a set of adaptations. The main adaptation being the ability to …show more content…

This means that oxygen and carbon dioxide enter/exit the gas exchange organ via blood. To ensure that the gases are constantly being exchanged, the organism must be adapted so that there is a concentration gradient. The concentration gradient is maintained in mammals by blood flow. Blood is pumped around the body. This means that as each breath is taken, and new air enters the alveoli, fresh blood is there for the oxygen to diffuse into (and vice versa for carbon dioxide). This is important as it means that gas exchange can constantly be occurring in the organism which leads to constant respiration and sufficient energy production to ensure the organisms survival. Oxygen bond to haemoglobin in the blood and travels to the vital organs in this way. Haemoglobin is an essential part of the organism as it allows the oxygen gas to travel throughout the organism, and therefore ensures its survival. (Biozoe Notes 2015, Class Notes 2015 MC, SHC Mission Point Notes

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