Question

What conclusions can be drawn from the fact that blood solutes in osmoconformers are different from the solutes in the ocean?

A) Osmoconformers actively regulate their blood solutes to match those in the ocean.
B) Osmoconformers do not regulate their blood solutes, allowing them to vary from the solutes in the ocean.
C) Osmoconformers have a specialized mechanism to selectively filter solutes from the ocean.
D) Osmoconformers maintain constant blood solutes regardless of the solutes in the ocean.

Answer 1

Osmoconformers keep their internal solute concentrations similar to the ocean but do not exactly match the ocean's solutes, illustrating a strategy that allows for some variability and reduces energy costs. Therefore, the correct option is b.

Step-by-step explanation:

The fact that blood solutes in osmoconformers are different from the solutes in the ocean indicates that osmoconformers do not actively regulate their blood solute concentration to exactly match that of the ocean. Instead, osmoconformers maintain an internal concentration of solutes that is similar but not identical to the surrounding environment, thus allowing some variation instead of an exact match. This strategy reduces the energetic cost of maintaining precise internal solute concentrations under varying external conditions.