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Contrast urine concentration in marine vs. freshwater fishes.

a) Marine fishes have concentrated urine; freshwater fishes have dilute urine.
b) Freshwater fishes have concentrated urine; marine fishes have dilute urine.
c) Both marine and freshwater fishes have dilute urine.
d) Both marine and freshwater fishes have concentrated urine.

User YahyaE
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Final answer:

Marine fishes produce concentrated urine because they live in a hypertonic environment and need to conserve water, while freshwater fishes excrete dilute urine due to their hypotonic environment causing them to take in excess water.

Step-by-step explanation:

When contrasting urine concentration in marine versus freshwater fishes, we can observe that marine fishes typically have concentrated urine while freshwater fishes have dilute urine. Freshwater fishes live in a hypotonic environment relative to their internal cells, leading to water influx; thus, they must excrete the excess water and maintain their electrolyte balance by producing dilute urine. On the other hand, marine fishes reside in a hypertonic environment, meaning they lose water to their surroundings and must drink seawater to stay hydrated, excreting the excess salts through their gills and conserving water by producing concentrated urine.

User Ramden
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