AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -What advantage does uric acid offer as a nitrogenous waste in arid environments? Uric acid provides the advantage of water conservation in animals like terrestrial invertebrates and birds.

Detailed explanation-2: -Various members of the animal kingdom adopt different strategies to overcome this difficulty. Birds, reptiles and desert dwelling animals excrete uric acid as a semi-solid material in their gut excreta, by a complicated, high energy-demanding process. Yet this has the advantage of conserving much-needed water.

Detailed explanation-3: -Reptiles, birds, insects, and some amphibious species excrete nitrogenous waste as uric acid rather than urea. Because uric acid is less toxic than urea, it does not need to be dissolved in water to be excreted (as such, it is largely insoluble).

Detailed explanation-4: -Mammals such as humans excrete urea, while birds, reptiles, and some terrestrial invertebrates produce uric acid as waste. Uricothelic organisms tend to excrete uric acid waste in the form of a white paste or powder.