Patterns in Nature Topic 14: Gaseous Exchange in Animals

1. Patterns in NatureTopic 14: Gaseous Exchange in Animals Part of the Patterns in Nature Module Biology in Focus, Preliminary Course Glenda Childrawi and Stephanie Hollis

2. DOT Point(s) • Identify and compare the gaseous exchange surfaces in an insect, a fish, a frog and a mammal. hvbackyard.blogspot.com en.wikipedia.org oceanwideimages.com en.wikipedia.org

3. Respiratory Surfaces Animals have high energy demands because they actively move to search for food and escape predators. As a result they need a large amount of oxygen and they release a large amount of carbon dioxide. Since their body surface are to volume ratio is not large enough to meet their high demand for gaseous exchange, specialised respiratory systems have evolved. examiner.com

4. Respiratory Surfaces Respiratory surfaces are body surfaces that are in contact with the external environment and have become specialised for gaseous exchange. The types of respiratory organs vary from one type of organism to another, but to ensure efficient exchange of gasses by diffusion, all gaseous exchange surfaces share certain common features. emc.maricopa.edu

5. Respiratory Surfaces Large surface Area: • An increased surface for gaseous exchange allows a faster rate of diffusion to supply oxygen and remove carbon dioxide. It is also necessary to compensate for the small surface are to volume ratio of the animals body. physicsforums.com

6. Respiratory Surfaces The surface area of respiratory organs may be increased by folding (lungs and gills), branching (tracheoles in insects) or flattening (flat shape of cells lining air sacs in lungs) of tissues at the surface of exchange. psmicrographs.co.uk

7. Respiratory Surfaces A moist, thin surface: • Creates the best possible conditions for efficient diffusion. Moisture ensures that oxygen and carbon dioxide are able to be dissolved for easy diffusion across membranes of cells and the thin nature of the surface reduces the distance that gases need to travel. elp.manchester.ac.uk

8. Respiratory Surfaces Near to an efficient transport system: • Allows gases to be carried to the cells where they are needed or from the cells where they have been produced. elp.manchester.ac.uk

9. Mammals: The Human Respiratory System Gaseous exchange in mammals takes place in millions of alveoli (air sacs) in the lungs. These alveoli form the boundary between air (external environment) and the blood capillaries in the body (internal environment). teachpe.com

10. Mammals: The Human Respiratory System The lungs have all the typical features of an efficient gaseous exchange surface we just discussed. Increased Surface Area: An adult human has about 300 million alveoli, supplied by 280 million capillaries. If we were able to flatten the alveoli of the lungs out completely they would cover the surface area of a tennis court! athosdumidi.com

11. Mammals: The Human Respiratory System Thin: Alveoli have an extremely thin lining made up of a single layer of flattened cells called squamous epithelium. This facilitates diffusion as the thin layer reduces the distance that gases must travel to enter the body. neil-mcleod.webs.com

12. Mammals: The Human Respiratory System Moist: the epithelial cells lining the respiratory tubules secrete mucus and moisten the air entering the lungs. The moisture ensures that the oxygen and carbon dioxide that diffuse across the gaseous exchange surface are in a dissolved form. daviddarling.info

13. Mammals: The Human Respiratory System Well supplied with blood: numerous blood capillaries closely surround the outside of each alveoli. Capillary walls are also only one cell thick, keeping to a minimum the distance that gases need to travel between the respiratory surface and the bloodstream. apocketmerlin.tumblr.com

14. Mammals: The Human Respiratory System Movement of gases is by diffusion along a concentration gradient. Inhaled air contains approximately 20% oxygen and 0.04% carbon dioxide. Exhaled air contains approximately 15% oxygen and 4% carbon dioxide. emc.maricopa.edu

15. Mammals: The Human Respiratory System Oxygen in the incoming air is in a higher concentration than that in the bloodstream, so oxygen diffuses from the air sacs into the body. woisd.net

16. Mammals: The Human Respiratory System Carbon dioxide is in a higher concentration in the bloodstream so it also diffuses along a concentration gradient from the capillaries, through the alveolar lining and into the alveolar air where it will be breathed out. search.com

17. Fish: Respiratory System The respiratory organs of fish are internal gills which are adapted to use oxygen dissolved in water. Water has a much lower oxygen content than air (4-6% vs air which is about 20%) rbssanimalsystems3.wikispaces.com

18. Fish: Respiratory System Water moves through the respiratory system in only one direction. As the fish swims, it opens its mouth so that water enters and flows over the gills and then it lifts its opercula (gill coverings) to let water out. todayifoundout.com

19. Fish: Respiratory System Gills also have all the typical features of an efficient gaseous exchange surface. Increased surface area: each gill has two rows of very delicate gill filaments, subdivided to increase the surface area. As water flows over the gills, gaseous exchange takes place. Well supplied with blood: the gill filaments appear pink or red in colour, due to the presence of a rich supply of blood capillaries. Thin surface: Each filament is covered by an extremely thin layer of cells so that gases can entre and leave easily. nhptv.org

20. Fish: Respiratory System As water flows over the gills, oxygen diffuses across the filaments into the blood capillaries and carbon dioxide diffuses out. examstutor.com

21. Frogs: Respiratory System Frogs are partly aquatic (tadpole stages live in water) and partly terrestrial (most adults live on land and are air breathing). These changes of habitat present a challenge to the respiratory system. aecos.com

22. Frogs: Respiratory System Tadpoles use their thin, moist skin and gills for respiration. The surface area to volume ratio of tadpoles is large so they can rely on diffusion to adequately meet their oxygen needs. breatheornot.wordpress.com

23. Frogs: Respiratory System Adult frogs use three surfaces for gaseous exchange: • The skin is the main site for respiration. Its very well supplied with blood vessels. • The floor of the mouth is large and well supplied with blood capillaries • Lungs, used only when they are physically active. All three respiratory surfaces are kept moist, are thin and are well supplied with blood vessels. wix.com

24. Insects: Respiratory System Insects have an internal respiratory surface. They take in and expel air through breathing pores called spiracles. Insects are very active and many require large quantities of energy and oxygen so they need an efficient respiratory system. tutorvista.com

25. Insects: Respiratory System Insects differ from terrestrial vertebrates in that they do not have lungs or blood capillaries. Instead they have a system of branching air tubes called tracheal tubes which carry air directly to the cells of the body. Blood is not involved in the transport of gases. cartage.org.lb

26. Insects: Respiratory System Air enters the insect body through a row of small breathing pores or spiracles on each side of the abdomen. Each spiracle has a valve which regulates its opening and closing. Air that enters is drawn into tracheae and carried directly to and from the cells of the body. Tracheae are branched extensively to increase surface area for gaseous exchange people.usd.edu

27. Insects: Respiratory System The ends of the tracheae are filled with a watery fluid in which the gases dissolve. Oxygen from the air dissolved in this fluid diffuses directly into the cells and carbon dioxide diffuses directly out of the cells. Muscular movements of the thorax and abdomen during movement helps ventilate the tracheal system. thedragonflywoman.com

28. Homework -Students to complete ‘Gaseous Exchange Surfaces’ (Teacher Resource CD) nhptv.org