Question

Why is osmoregulation necessary in aquatic animals?

Answer 1

Osmoregulation is a process that maintains the amount of water and proper ionic balance in the body. Balance of water and ions is partly linked to excretion, the removal of metabolic wastes from the body.

Types of osmoregulatory environments in which animals live:

1. Freshwater animals – They are generally hyperosmotic to their environment. Their body swells by movement of water and they have continual loss of body salts to the surrounding environment..
2. Marine animals - Depending on their ability to tolerate different salinities aquatic animals they maintain an osmotic difference between their body fluid and the surrounding environment are osmoregulators.

Aquatic animals produce a large volume of dilute urine with waste material after the absorption of essential salt and nutrients.