The sample size of our experiment was 4 groups (N=4). The height of the bars represent the average mass specific surface area for the four classes from whom the data was collected from, in cm2/kg. The first bar represents the average mass specific surface area for the species Scomber scombrus, or the Mackerel Fish. The second bar represents the average mass specific surface area for Merluccius bilinearis, or the Silver Hake, or whiting. The third bar represents the average mass specific surface area for the Pseudopleuronectes americanus, or the Winter Flounder. The X axis represents the different species that were compared and the Y axis represents the mass specific …show more content…
The Merluccius bilinearis is a long, thin, silver fish. The Pseudopleuronectes americanus is a dirty brown color and has a wide, flat body. One of its defining characteristics of the Pseudopleuronectes americanus is the flat fins that line the top and bottom of the fish. Between the three fish, there were differences in the gill size and color as well. The mass specific gill surface area, in increasing order, is the Pseudopleuronectes americanus, the Merluccius bilinearis, and then the Scomber scombrus. The Scomber scombrus gills are a deep red, indicating a large presence of blood vessels. The Merluccius bilinearis has red gills, but not as deep red as the Scomber scombrus. The Pseudopleuronectes americanus’ gills were the least red, and were the shortest.
When converting the absolute gill surface area to mass specific gill surface area, I noticed that the largest absolute gill surface area, of the Scomber scombrus, stayed the largest, while the smallest absolute gill surface area, of the Pseudopleuronectes americanus, stayed the …show more content…
We can infer this because while the Pseudopleuronectes americanus uses its camouflage to lure its prey, the Scomber scombrus and the Merluccius bilinearis have to use their speed to catch their food. When racing to catch their prey, the Scomber scombrus and the Merluccius bilinearis use large amounts of oxygen, and therefore the gills have to be very efficient in collecting and absorbing oxygen. This is why the mass specific surface area is the highest in the Scomber scombrus and the Merluccius bilinearis. The data confirms that the evolutionary traits in the gills of the fish, such as surface area and size, correspond to the demands of the species’ oxygen demands. The data shown in Figure 1 proves this as the Scomber scombrus has the highest mass specific surface area, followed by the Merluccius bilinearis, and then followed by the Pseudopleuronectes americanus, which is the species that needs the least amount of oxygen. Based on the data, we can also infer that the Merluccius bilinearis is not as active as the Scomber scombrus because the mass specific surface area is greater on the Scomber scrombus.
The Scomber scrombus, Merluccius bilinearis, and the Pseudopleuronectes americanus have coefficients of variations of 9%, 9%, and