Question

Imagine you are a tetrapod ancestor about to leave the freshwater pond you’ve always inhabited and invade land. Consider the ventilatory and osmoregulatory challenges you have to face when you switch from a water environment to a terrestrial environment. How can you acclimate to the new habitat to succeed during your own lifetime? What adaptive changes does your species need to make in order to dominate various terrestrial environments for millions of years to come?

Answer 1

Transition of tetrapod from freshwater system to land posses several challeages

1) must withstand with effect of gravity

2) minimize water loss to combot dehydration

3)must be able to breath air,

4) able to sense on land.

On tetrapod anchestor , various life process such as feeding respiration, reproduction is according to their water habitat, once they swithched from water to land habitat some major changes occur in their physiological mechanism.

The effect of gravity create significant demand on the modification of skeletal structure. The backbone must be able to support animal internal structure,effectively distribute weight downward into the limb which transmit weight of the animal into the ground. Evolution of breething mechanism to deal with excess carbondioxide on the land. Prevention of waterloss by developing water tight skin, secreting of waxy substance through the glands in skin and inhabitating to moist habitat. Adjustment of sensory organ such as eye and ears that they are compensate for the difference in light and sound transmission through the air instead of water. Loss of some sensor such as external line system require to survive in water habitat. These are all the adaptive changes require by tetrapod species to dominate verious terristial environment.