Nature Of Excretory Products In Relation To Habitat

The process of excretion helps animals get rid of waste and extra water. It also allows them to keep a stable acid-base balance. This maintains homeostasis, which is when an animal’s internal environment stays the same.

Our excretory products include amino acids, urea, uric acid, carbon dioxide, water, and ammonia. Some Mollusks and Echinoderms excrete waste products from the body in the form of amino acids. Ammonia is the main excretion from animals and it comes from the proteins in the food we eat.

Nature Of Excretory Products In Relation To Habitat

There are the following relationships of excretory products with the nature of the habitat. Ammonia is kept as an excretory product in those animals which live in a hypotonic environment like fresh water.

Ammonia

Ammonia is a very toxic substance. It dissolves quickly in the body fluid. Thus it must be kept in low concentration in the body.” 25 A large amount of water is required for maintaining its low concentration in the body. Water is also required to eliminate ammonia in the form of urine. This is possible only in a hypotonic environment.

About 500 ml of water is needed to excrete 1g of ammonia is nitrogen. The animals secreting ammonia as the excretory product are called ammonotelic.

Urea

The animal living in a low supply of water secretes urea. Ammonia cannot be key as an excretory product in a low supply of water. So it is changed into a less toxic substance like urea. Urea requires only 50 ml of water for its 1 gram of nitrogen removal. Thus the excretory nitrogen is converted into urea by the Urea cycle.

It occurs in animals that live in a low supply of water e.g. terrestrial animals. The animals secreting urea as their excretory products are called urotelic.

Uric acid

The animals living in acute shortage of water produce uric acid. Uric acid is excreted with a minimum amount of water. Only 1ml of water is required to eliminate. 1 gram of nitrogen in the form of uric acid. The reptiles and birds live in arid conditions. So they excrete uric acid as an excretory product. The animals secreting uric acid as their waste product are called uricotelic.

Evolutionary Significance Of Urcotely And Uricotely

Urcotely and uricotely are evolutionary adaptations for nitrogenous wastes in their habitats. The animals have adapted themselves chemically to these habitats. They also show various adaptations and produce diversity in excretory nature.

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