These fish have adapted to live in an incredibly specialized ecological niche - a.k.a. These fish are adapted to live in alkaline lakes, and only alkaline lakes. But as you may guess, there's a trade-off here. That means they don't need to spend as much energy protecting their internal pH from changing because of the environment they live in. Alcolapia have also evolved a higher internal pH compared to most fishes. And that allows them to survive in waters that have been shown to kill other similar species of fish within an hour.
So Alcolapia have evolved an enzyme that lets them convert ammonia to urea without using too much energy. The problem is, when it comes to freshwater fish, it doesn't take a lot of ammonia to be toxic- just half a milligram in a liter of water can start to cause issues. And some saltwater fish have similar adaptations. Land animals can usually process ammonia by converting it to urea, which is less toxic, but this process takes up a lot of energy. For example, alkaline lakes are full of ammonia, which is toxic to many forms of life. Lake Natron, and other alkaline lakes across the region, are home to a genus of fish called Alcolapia, which have evolved unique adaptations to withstand the toxic environment they call home. They're the basis for the lake's very own ecosystem. The lake is home to a genus of brilliant red algae called Arthrospira, which loves salty, alkaline water. First, the lake has a distinctive, bright red color, and it gets that from a flourishing community of algae. Because of that, it's hard to imagine that anything can live in this lake. Any animal corpses unfortunate enough to land in the water end up mummified in a coat of minerals, and touching it is seriously painful for humans. The lake's temperature has been known to hit sixty (60) degrees Celsius. Depending on the conditions, its pH can be higher than 10 - that's a thousand times more basic than pure water. The water is alkaline - sometimes very alkaline. Tanzania's Lake Natron isn't exactly a pleasant place for a swim. Looking for SciShow elsewhere on the internet?
Ashmore, Piya Shedden, Sam Lutfi, Charles George, Christoph Schwanke, Greg, Lehel Kovacs, Bd_Tmprd Kevin Bealer, Jacob, Katie Marie Magnone, Charles Southerland, Eric Jensen, Christopher R Boucher, Alex Hackman, Matt Curls, Adam Brainard, Jeffrey McKishen, Scott Satovsky Jr, James Knight, Sam Buck, Chris Peters, Kevin Carpentier, Patrick D. Huge thanks go to the following Patreon supporters for helping us keep SciShow free for everyone forever: Support SciShow by becoming a patron on Patreon: SciShow has a spinoff podcast! It's called SciShow Tangents. But some creatures have evolved amazing adaptations that help them survive and thrive in this alkaline lake. With its caustic red waters, Lake Natron doesn’t seem like the ideal place to call home.
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