Organisms and Populations Question 23

23. Animals that can tolerate a narrow range of salinity are

(a) stenohaline

(b) euryhaline

(c) anadromous

(d) catadromous

Show Answer

Answer : a

Hints & Solutions

(a) Stenohaline: ‘Steno’ means narrow and ‘haline’ means salt. A fish cannot handle a wide fluctuation in salt content in water. Many fresh water fish tend to be stenohaline and die in environment of high salinity such as the ocean. Fish living in coastal estuaries and tide pools are often euryhaline (tolerant to changes in salinity) as are many species which have life cycle requiring tolerance to both fresh water and sea water environments such as Salmon.