How Does Osmosis/Diffusion Affect Fish?
When introduced to fresh water, saltwater fish will begin to lose the salt in their bodies and take on large amounts of water. Just the opposite happens to freshwater fish when they are introduced to saltwater. In either case, most fish placed in these circumstances will die. Osmoregulation: How They Survive Some fish, such as Atlantic salmon and brook trout, are forced by their life cycle to adapt to wide ranges of salinity. They do so through osmoregulation. This is a process through which they are able to regulate the intake and release of water and salt. How Do Freshwater Fish Osmoregulate? To release the excess water that enters their bodies through their gills, freshwater fish release a constant stream of very dilute urine. This allows them to maintain a perfect body composition. A fish might urinate up to one-third of its body weight in a day. How Do Saltwater Fish Osmoregulate? Saltwater fish are losing water constantly because of the high salinity of their environment. They ar
