The Relative Losses of Sodium in the Urine and Across the Body Surface in the Amphipod, Gammarus Duebeni

Abstract

1. The relative contributions of urine production and diffusion across the body surface to the loss of sodium from the body of the amphipod Gammarus duebeni have been investigated. 2. When the urine is isotonic to the blood some 80% of the total sodium loss is via the urine. 3. As the gradient between blood and medium is increased in dilute media production of urine hypotonic to the blood counteracts the tendency for sodium loss to increase. 4. In consequence, the average rate of sodium uptake at the body surface by animals acclimatized to 2% sea water needs to be only about twice that of animals acclimatized to 50% sea water. 5. It is suggested that the conservation of ions within the body by the production of hypotonic urine is likely to be found to be a common feature of the smaller brackish water crustacea, especially those with a high rate of water turnover.