Some animals are osmoconformers, meaning that they maintain the tonicity/osmolarity of their body fluids equal to that of the external environment. Hydroids, a type of cnidarian, are osmoconformers. But they don't move and thus are adapted to the environment they live in. A) What would happen if you take a marine hydroid and transfer it into a freshwater aquarium? B) What would happen if you take a freshwater hydroid and transfer it into a saltwater aquarium? C) Sharks are extraordinary osmoconformers. Bull sharks store urea in their tissues and use it to match the tonicity of their tissues to that of the surrounding environment. Some sharks can move from saltwater to freshwater, hypothesize what changes will sharks do in order to adjust when moving from saltwater to freshwater and vice versa. Explain your answer in terms of tonicity and specify the direction of water movement and urea concentration.

Biology Today and Tomorrow without Physiology (MindTap Course List)
5th Edition
ISBN:9781305117396
Author:Cecie Starr, Christine Evers, Lisa Starr
Publisher:Cecie Starr, Christine Evers, Lisa Starr
Chapter4: Energy And Metabolism
Section: Chapter Questions
Problem 12SQ
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  1. Some animals are osmoconformers, meaning that they maintain the tonicity/osmolarity of their body fluids equal to that of the external environment. Hydroids, a type of cnidarian, are osmoconformers. But they don't move and thus are adapted to the environment they live in. A) What would happen if you take a marine hydroid and transfer it into a freshwater aquarium? B) What would happen if you take a freshwater hydroid and transfer it into a saltwater aquarium? C) Sharks are extraordinary osmoconformers. Bull sharks store urea in their tissues and use it to match the tonicity of their tissues to that of the surrounding environment. Some sharks can move from saltwater to freshwater, hypothesize what changes will sharks do in order to adjust when moving from saltwater to freshwater and vice versa. Explain your answer in terms of tonicity and specify the direction of water movement and urea concentration. 
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