Question

Mackerel are fast swimming fish whereas toadfish only swim slowly. The table shows some features of the gills of these fish. Mackerel Number of lamellae per mm of gill length - 32 Thickness of lamellae / µm - 5 Toadfish Number of lamellae per mm of gill length - 8 Thickness of lamellae / µm - 35 Use evidence from the table to explain how mackerel are able to swim faster than toadfish.

Answer 1

See below.

Step-by-step explanation:

Mackerel Toadfish

Number of lamellae per mm of gill length 32 8

Thickness of lamellae 5 µm 35 µm

The primary function of the gill lamellae is to draw a water current through the gill which both provides oxygen and sieves food from the current. The higher density of the lamellae in the mackerel (32/mm gill length) and smaller size (5 µm) make it more efficient than the less dense toadfish (8/mm gill length) and density of 8/mm gill length)