Respiratory System of Great Horned Owl
Owls, along with all other organisms, need oxygen to survive. oxygen is required for the making of ATP in cellular respiration. Cellular respiration is the process by which energy is processed for an organism. If an organism has no oxygen, it cannot make any ATP, or perform cellular respiration, or obtain any energy, and wouldn’t be able to live.
Owls’ respiratory systems are similar to that of humans, the largest difference being that the lungs are much smaller and have nine air sacs in addition. These nine air sacs, however, do not play a role in the obtention of oxygen, but more processing, i.e. cellular respiration. Owls don’t have a diaphragm. Instead, air is moved in and out of the respiratory system through pressure changes in the air sacs. Owls’ lungs do not expand or contract like the lungs of mammals. In the lungs of mammals, oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange in the alveoli.' In owls’ lungs, gas exchange is in the air capillaries. Owls breathe similarly to mammals in the sense that they take in air from their nostrils, it is used inside the body, and then exhaled through the nose.
Owls’ respiratory systems are similar to that of humans, the largest difference being that the lungs are much smaller and have nine air sacs in addition. These nine air sacs, however, do not play a role in the obtention of oxygen, but more processing, i.e. cellular respiration. Owls don’t have a diaphragm. Instead, air is moved in and out of the respiratory system through pressure changes in the air sacs. Owls’ lungs do not expand or contract like the lungs of mammals. In the lungs of mammals, oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange in the alveoli.' In owls’ lungs, gas exchange is in the air capillaries. Owls breathe similarly to mammals in the sense that they take in air from their nostrils, it is used inside the body, and then exhaled through the nose.