Respiratory
Adaptations
For animals to live up high in different altitudes their respiratory systems need to be adapted in order for them to survive. This means their red blood cell counts will differ, their blood pressure and lung capacity will also be different. Animals living high up in mountains have to be altitude tolerant. These organisms are adapted to living in areas where oxygen or carbon dioxide levels are very low. The tops of mountains are also very cold and bitter and the temperatures can swing any way so they have to be prepared.
The Llama (Llama Glama)
Llama's living high up in high altitude areas the use the binding of oxygen and haemoglobin, oxyhemoglobin is produced. The binding of these means that the haemoglobin removes the oxygen from solution, this means that more oxygen is able to be transported to various tissues around the body. When oxyhemoglobin travels around the body in the blood and reaches tissues which are deoxygenated then the oxygen will remove itself from the haemoglobin to supply the tissue with oxygen. There are numerous physiological adaptations which allow the llama to cope with decreased oxygen levels. The llamas oxygen dissociation levels are different when compared to similar animals to them which live lower down instead of up mountains, llamas have a left shift compared to animals at a lower level this means an increased affinity to oxygen. One of the special adaptations of the Llama is that it has lowered its P50 value, this means that they are able to obtain oxygen easier from a low pressure environment. After research had been done it had been suggested that the llama uses erythrocytes which have high haemoglobin concentrations, this helps them dramatically with the process of oxygen extraction. Llamas have lowered concentrations of DPG, because of this they naturally have an increased affinity for oxygen, all of these things affect the oxygen dissociation curve.
Llama's living high up in high altitude areas the use the binding of oxygen and haemoglobin, oxyhemoglobin is produced. The binding of these means that the haemoglobin removes the oxygen from solution, this means that more oxygen is able to be transported to various tissues around the body. When oxyhemoglobin travels around the body in the blood and reaches tissues which are deoxygenated then the oxygen will remove itself from the haemoglobin to supply the tissue with oxygen. There are numerous physiological adaptations which allow the llama to cope with decreased oxygen levels. The llamas oxygen dissociation levels are different when compared to similar animals to them which live lower down instead of up mountains, llamas have a left shift compared to animals at a lower level this means an increased affinity to oxygen. One of the special adaptations of the Llama is that it has lowered its P50 value, this means that they are able to obtain oxygen easier from a low pressure environment. After research had been done it had been suggested that the llama uses erythrocytes which have high haemoglobin concentrations, this helps them dramatically with the process of oxygen extraction. Llamas have lowered concentrations of DPG, because of this they naturally have an increased affinity for oxygen, all of these things affect the oxygen dissociation curve.
Most Llamas today live in the Andes Mountains in South America, they can live in mountains with high altitudes of between 7400 and 12,800 feet where oxygen levels can reach as low as 40%, the air is incredibly thin. Llamas have very unique blood which is adapted very well to the high altitude areas which they live in, Llamas have more red blood cells per unit that any other mammal which we know. The haemoglobin which carries the substance reacts much quicker with the oxygen. These oxygen deficient environments which they live in are called hypoxic. Llamas differ to other mammals when it comes to their red blood corpuscles, these are oval instead of round like other mammals, this allows them to take in more of the available oxygen, this is another adaptation which allows them to suit life in a high altitude area. Unusually Llamas are able to live in lower altitude levels as well as high ones, the reasons for how they evolved to be like this is unknown but moving a llama from high to low or low to high does not usually affect it and it still usually able to survive. However the respiratory system and their red blood count and oxygen disassociation levels will not change, it is a permanent respiratory adaptation, this means they will live longer in high altitude areas as they are adapted to live there, also hot climates do not suit the Llama. Llamas have a large lung capacity along with a faster heart rate and higher blood pressure. When the heart rate is increased then the oxygen is transported from the alveoli through the circulatory system and reaches the tissue at a much faster rate.
Deer Mouse (Peromyscus Maniculatus)
The deer mouse is one of the most studied animal when it comes to when researching high altitude adaptations. This is because the deer mouse is one of the most vertical ranging animals of any mammal in North America, from below sea level to environments which can be over 4300 metres high. This differs to the llama which tends to stay only in high altitudes instead or ranging from high altitude to low altitude areas like the deer mouse does. At such high altitude levels the pressure exerted by oxygen alone is only 55% of what it is at sea level. This means that the Deer Mouse experience a variety of completely different oxygen environments. It is believed that deer mice have one of the most unique oxygen binding affinities compared to all other animals due to the fact that it is able to travel to either a high altitude or a low altitude. There has been 6 different types of amino acids, the protein which is found in haemoglobin found in the blood of deer mice, these are all different substitutes to the average amino acid and each one of these found has a the ability to change the molecule, this includes oxygen binding affinity. This is considered to be so amazing, more amazing that the llama's ability to live in high altitudes due to the fact that this possession of multiple haemoglobin forms has only ever been recorded in one other animal, the Yak.
The deer mouse is one of the most studied animal when it comes to when researching high altitude adaptations. This is because the deer mouse is one of the most vertical ranging animals of any mammal in North America, from below sea level to environments which can be over 4300 metres high. This differs to the llama which tends to stay only in high altitudes instead or ranging from high altitude to low altitude areas like the deer mouse does. At such high altitude levels the pressure exerted by oxygen alone is only 55% of what it is at sea level. This means that the Deer Mouse experience a variety of completely different oxygen environments. It is believed that deer mice have one of the most unique oxygen binding affinities compared to all other animals due to the fact that it is able to travel to either a high altitude or a low altitude. There has been 6 different types of amino acids, the protein which is found in haemoglobin found in the blood of deer mice, these are all different substitutes to the average amino acid and each one of these found has a the ability to change the molecule, this includes oxygen binding affinity. This is considered to be so amazing, more amazing that the llama's ability to live in high altitudes due to the fact that this possession of multiple haemoglobin forms has only ever been recorded in one other animal, the Yak.
This means that changes in amino acids are responsible for both high and low altitude adaptations. There are mutations which are responsible for the differences between oxygen affinity in high and low altitudes and the populations of the mice. It has been discovered that highland deer mice which is associated highly with fatty acids whereas the lowland deer mice are associated more with primarily carbohydrates. Deer mice are found to have quite a low level of haemoglobin, the mice which were living at higher altitudes have been recorded to have a higher food intake than those living at low altitudes, this shows that life at high altitudes requires more energy. The deer mouse haemoglobin seems to lack a specific hydrogen bond which the average haemoglobin cell does have. The deer mouse is similar to the llama when at a high altitude, at high altitude they exhibited much higher blood oxygen affinity than at a low altitude and their oxygen dissociation curve is to the left, the same as it is with the llama. It is important that the dissociation curve is not shifted too far too the left otherwise this would leave them unable to release oxygen to the tissues. Although the deer mouse is similar to the llama in how it is adapted to altitudes but just on a smaller scale they are different as the deer mouse is much more wide spread meaning that they are more adapted to change in altitudes.