This pigment is transports oxygen throughout the body, and is probably needed in these larger organisms because of relatively

larger size. Once gas exchange has occurred, water is pushed over the gills and out by closing the mouth and opening the operculum. The pharynx then rises, which increases pressure due to the decrease in volume, and the gills are forced open by water pushing out.

Humans have a more regulated respiratory system than locusts, due to the fact that larger and more complex organisms like humans need a relatively higher amount of oxygen to provide for their relatively higher energy needs. This is why air containing oxygen is first brought through the respiratory system (lungs), and then later diffused through the alveoli, which are small and have a higher surface area to volume ratio, thus making diffusion more effective. Humans inhale air (containing oxygen) through their mouths (and nose), down the trachea, then down the bronchi (which have cartilage rings to stop them collapsing), then the bronchioles,

and finally into the alveoli (air sacs), where gas exchange takes place. Human lungs contain a dead space, which is what stops them collapsing, and alveoli also have a surfactant to stop them collapsing and sticking together. Alveoli are about one cell layer thick, are surrounded by capillaries, and the alveoli/capillary interface has a high surface area to volume ratio, thus making diffusion quicker and more effective. Unlike in fish, who use counter current flow to maintain a concentration gradient, humans use ventilation and the circulation of blood to maintain this gradient (ie new blood is constantly going through the capillaries). The pleural membrane separating the lungs from the ribcage contains liquid (like haemocoel in locusts), and keeps the alveoli moist. When air reaches the alveoli the oxygen dissolves into this liquid and then diffuses into the blood going through the capillaries, while carbon dioxide diffuses out of the capillaries back into the alveoli/lungs, to be exhaled.

Gas exchange occurs through tracheoles for locusts, in the gills for fish, and in alveoli in humans. Also, locusts do not have a respiratory pigment, compared to both fish and humans whose blood contains haemoglobin. A final comparison is that locusts have an open circulatory system (ie no blood vessels and one heart that runs the length of the body dorsally), whereas both fish and humans have an open system. Fish have a two chambered heart (one atrium, one ventricle). Deoxygenated blood is pumped from the heart to the gill capillaries, where it becomes oxygenated, which Is then pumped around the body then back to the heart where the system is repeated. Humans closed system is more efficient than fish because it has a double circulatory system, thus keeping deoxygenated and oxygenated blood apart. This more efficient system allows for a humans larger size compared to fish. Overall the three respiratory systems have both similarities and differences, however the different structures all amount to successful gas exchange, so that each organism extracts sufficient oxygen for respiration, so that enough energy is provided for each organism to continue to function and survive.

Like in fish, human red blood cells contain haemoglobin, a respiratory pigment, which carries oxygen to the cells. Ventilation in humans is made possible through the contractions of the intercostal muscles and the diaphragm. The ribcage provides a support structure for the ventilation process and provides protection for the lungs and heart. When the external intercostal muscles contract, they lift the ribcage, and the diaphragm contracts and moves downwards. This decreases the air pressure and therefore the volume increases, and hence the lungs expand and air is forced in. Meanwhile to exhale the carbon dioxide from the lungs, the internal intercostal muscles contract, thus allowing the ribcage to fall back down. The abdominal muscles also contract, which forces the diaphragm upwards. This increases the air pressure as the chest cavity gets smaller, hence causing the lung volume to get smaller also. This then pushes the air out of the mouth (or nose).