What is Osmoregulation?
Osmoregulation is a complex process utilized by living organisms to ensure that their osmotic pressure remains stable. There are a number of different types of osmoregulation, and a wide variety of techniques can be used to regulate osmotic pressure in everything from plants to whales. In all cases, the goal is to keep the consistency and level of body fluids constant. Osmoconformers attempt to conform to their surrounding environment. This type of osmoregulation is seen most commonly in marine invertebrates. In these animals, the consistency of the body fluids matches that of the surrounding water, so there is no net gain or loss of water or salts from the body of the fish. Osmoregulators, on the other hand, maintain a very strict osmotic pressure which does not conform with the surrounding environment, and this type of osmoregulation is the most common. Osmotic pressure involves the tendency for a solution of lower concentration to flow across a membrane to a solution of higher conce
