Tag Archives: animal

Why don’t birds breathe like the rest of us?

Birds breathe quite differently to us.  They don’t have a diaphragm and their ribs only move slightly when they breathe in.  Instead they use large air sacs like bellows to move air through their lungs.  It takes two full breaths … Continue reading

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So what’s all this oxygen about? Why we breathe part II

We explored how carbon dioxide is produced when sugars are broken down during cellular respiration on Monday and now understand why we must breathe out, but why exactly do we need the oxygen that we get when we breathe in?

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Why we need to breathe: Part I – carbon dioxide

What exactly is the big deal with breathing?  Why do we breathe?  Always.  It must be pretty important….so important that most of the time our body does it automatically.  Respiration (a fancy-pants word for breathing) is more than just breathing … Continue reading

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Whaaaat……eggs breathe? Part II: How bird, reptile and monotreme eggs exchange gases

Now we know how aquatic eggs (amphibians and fish) breathe, let’s explore how eggs that are normally laid on land exchange their respiratory gases.  The amniotes (reptiles, birds and mammals) mostly lay their eggs on the land, in burrows or … Continue reading

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Whaaaat……eggs breathe? How amphibian and fish eggs exchange gases

Yes, embryos inside eggs need to breathe!  This is going to be a big two-parter and we will explore how egg-laying amniotes (reptiles, birds and monotremes) eggs breathe in part two.  First, let’s discover how amphibian (frogs and salamanders) and … Continue reading

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Positive versus negative pressure breathing: how frogs and mammals do it differently

Breathing is all about creating a difference in air pressure between the lungs and the environment.  Air will then flow down its pressure gradient because gases (like air) always move from areas of high pressure to areas of lower pressure.  … Continue reading

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No lungs, no gills: how do insects breathe?

They may make your skin crawl and you might wish to think of them as a lower life form, but insects have a remarkably elegant and simple way of delivering oxygen to their body and removing the carbon dioxide waste. … Continue reading

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To breathe….

This blog will delve into the fascinating and bizzare ways animals breathe such as across their skin, bums and external gills.  From frogs that can stop breathing and enter a state of suspended animation to fish that can breathe air; … Continue reading

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