Class notes Unit 3 - Understand Animal Anatomy and Physiology
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Respiratory Adaptations
One of the most complex systems within the body is the respiratory system. This system
provides oxygen to the cells within the body. With animals living within different altitudes,
some temporary and permanent adaptive changes must be made for the respiratory system
to work effectively.
Llama
Llamas live in very high altitudes from around 7,400 to 12,800 metres above sea level. In
comparison to most animals, these llamas have very unique blood which can adapt to the
low oxygen levels that are available where they live. The Llama has a lot more red blood
cells in their blood per unit compared to other animals. The hemoglobin, that is found
within red blood cells, combines with the oxygen that is naturally inhaled during respiration
and forms oxyhaemoglobin. Because llamas have more blood cells, for these blood cells to
form enough oxyhaemoglobin to spread throughout the entire body, means that the llamas
need to be able to bring more oxygen into their body. To do this, they have adapted to have
a much larger lung capacity, able to hold and transport more oxygen to the blood, allowing
the newly created oxyhaemoglobin to travel to all of the tissues and organs within the
body. The more air within each breath, saves the llama energy and does not waste the
oxygen already within the llamas body which is extremely important due to the low
saturation of oxygen within the higher altitudes. They have also adapted to have slightly
decreased diphosphoglycerate (DPG) levels within their red blood cells. DPG controls the
oxygen movement between red blood cells and the body tissues. The more DPG means less
oxygen is able to be delivered to the tissues, so decreasing these levels means that more
oxygen can be diffused throughout the body. The body of the llama also became adapted to
have a reduced heart rate and lower metabolic rate, this is to make the blood pump around
the body slower. Pumping the blood around the body slower is helpful for the llama as it
means that the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide to and from the lungs is reduced per
minute, and less energy is required. Energy is produced when cells respire, so the less
energy that is needed and used by the metabolism, the less the exchange of oxygen and
carbon dioxide needs to take place. Adaptations for excessive myoglobin production have
also gone underway within the llamas body so that its species can live within high altitudes.
Higher levels of myoglobin are needed as it is the protein that enables oxygen to be stored
in tissues within the body. So the simple knowledge of more myoglobin, means more
oxygen can be stored within the tissue and the body can perform for longer periods of time
without needing extra oxygen.
Horse
Horses do not permanently live in high altitudes, so when travelling from sea level to the
higher lands, it can take an extreme toll on them and they have to perform specific
adaptations to perform well and stay fit in these conditions. Altitude begins to take its toll
on the horse's body when they reach around 1,500 metres above sea level and it can really
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