THE OSMOTIC PROBLEMS OF LIVING IN SEA WATER

In an experiment, the marine ciliate Cothurnia was placed in a series of dilutions of

sea water, and the output of its contractile vacuole was measured. In another
experiment, the change in the volume of the organism in different dilutions of sea
water was recorded.
The results are given in the table below:
Added fresh
Water %
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90

Contractile vacuole
output /dm3 s-1
0.65
0.56
1.10
1.00
1.51
2.40
6.31
18.25
35.10
9.55

Relative
body volume
1.000
1.075
1.175
1.280
1.451
1.600
1.785
2.010
2.092
2.035

(a)

Plot these data on one graph. There will be two different y axes, but they will
have the same x axis.

(b)

With reference to the contractile vacuole output curve, explain the effects of
dilution on the activity of the contractile vacuole.

(c)

What do the changes in relative body volume indicate about the effects of the
contractile activity?

(d)

Some species of marine protozoa form contractile vacuoles only when the
animal begins to feed. Suggest an explanation for this observation.

This is a microscope image of a freshwater species of Cothurnia, attached to an alga.

This is how a contractile

vacuole works - in this case
in a species of Paramecium