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    jeadogg's Avatar
    jeadogg Posts: 1, Reputation: 1
    New Member
     
    #1

    Feb 20, 2006, 06:54 PM
    Amphibian
    I need help with my homework .we are learning about water balance in a amphibian. The question is what would happen if the water were more highly concentrated in the spadefoot toad than in the surrounding soil ?

    I need a answer a ASAP!!
    PLEASE HELP
    lilfyre's Avatar
    lilfyre Posts: 508, Reputation: 98
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    #2

    Feb 21, 2006, 09:14 AM
    Amphibians UndergroundAll amphibians spend at least part of their lives in water. Their eggs are laid in water, and as adults they are susceptible to drying out. Surprisingly, some amphibians live in deserts, where it hardly ever rains.The spadefoot toad of western North America is a master dry-land amphibian. For about nine months out of the year, it lives underground, sealed at the bottom of a burrow up to a meter deep in a state similar to hibernation. During this time, the toad does not eat anything and its metabolism slows. When it finally rains, the toads dig their way to the surface, eat, and lay eggs.The spadefoot can survive underground by taking advantage of osmosis. Osmosis is the tendency of any liquid or gas to move into regions where it is less concentrated. Figure 1 shows a container of water, separated in half by a membrane. Water molecules can pass through the membrane, but salt particles cannot.Osmosis makes the water move from the side where it is more concentrated (i.e., fewer salt particles) to the side where it is less concentrated (more salt particles).The spadefoot toad can absorb water from the surrounding soil through its skin by controlling the amount of salt particles in its own blood. Normally, the kidneys remove these salts from the blood so that the concentration of water in the blood is high. The salts are then expelled with the urine. While underground, the spadefoot’s kidneys slow down, allowing the concentration of salt in the blood to increase to the point where even small amounts of water move from the soil into the body of the toad.


    If I Am reading this right he will hybrnate during the dry season which is about nine month, and when the rain come he wakes digs his way out and brreds and lays eggs

    The answer, is I hope, Wakes digs his way out and breeds and lays eggs

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