Osmoconformer
You know how your body needs certain things to stay healthy, like food and water? Well, animals that live in the water also need certain things to stay healthy. One of those things is a good balance of salt and water in their bodies.
Now, there are some animals that don't have a fancy system to control how much salt and water is in their bodies. Instead, they just let it change depending on what's in the water around them. This is called being an osmoconformer.
Imagine you're playing in a pool with a bunch of toys floating around you. If you put one toy in and take one out, the number of toys in the pool changes. That's kind of like what happens to an osmoconformer's salt and water levels.
If they're in saltier water, their body will have more salt and less water. If they're in less salty water, their body will have less salt and more water. They don't actively control this - it just happens naturally based on the water they're in.
So, being an osmoconformer means that an animal's body just goes with the flow (literally!) of the water around them when it comes to their salt and water levels. It might not be as fancy as other ways of controlling those levels, but it works for some types of critters!
Now, there are some animals that don't have a fancy system to control how much salt and water is in their bodies. Instead, they just let it change depending on what's in the water around them. This is called being an osmoconformer.
Imagine you're playing in a pool with a bunch of toys floating around you. If you put one toy in and take one out, the number of toys in the pool changes. That's kind of like what happens to an osmoconformer's salt and water levels.
If they're in saltier water, their body will have more salt and less water. If they're in less salty water, their body will have less salt and more water. They don't actively control this - it just happens naturally based on the water they're in.
So, being an osmoconformer means that an animal's body just goes with the flow (literally!) of the water around them when it comes to their salt and water levels. It might not be as fancy as other ways of controlling those levels, but it works for some types of critters!