Do fish drink water?

IT WAS A DECEPTIVELY simple question from a listener to my weekly talkback show on Triple J: “Do fish drink water?” It’s easiest to answer if we think of atoms and molecules. The chemical formula for water is H2O. It’s a molecule made from three atoms – two of hydrogen, one of oxygen – and it’s shaped like a tiny boomerang. In any water body, such as a lake or river or the ocean, there are usually some oxygen molecules in between the water molecules – especially if the surface of the water is exposed to the air. Compared with water molecules there are many fewer oxygen molecules, which are each made of two atoms of oxygen and shaped like a barbell. We humans drink water that goes into our gut, then…

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Australian Geographic (Digital) - 1 Issue, July/August 2019

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