Question

Short / long answer type questions.
What are the requirements of a surface to be highly efficient for gaseous exchange? How has this efficiency increased from fish to mammals?

Answer 1

• Respiratory surfaces tend to be thin and have a large surface area, structural adaptations that maximize the rate of gas exchange.
  
• All living cells must be bathed in water to maintain their plasma membranes. The respiratory surfaces of terrestrial as well as aquatic animals are moist, and 02 and C02 diffuse across these surfaces after first dissolving in water.
  
• The respiratory surface must supply 02 and expel C02 for the entire body. and a variety of solutions to the problem of providing a large enough surface have evolved.
  
• An endotherm has a larger area of the respiratory surface than a similar-sized ectotherm.