Abstract
In a biogeographical context, the term Macaronesia broadly embraces the North Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores, Madeira, Selvagens, the Canary Islands, and Cape Verde. The peculiar arid climatic conditions in some of these places have led to the development of marine salt exploitations, which can be counted among the hypersaline habitats of the brine shrimp Artemia (Branchiopoda, Anostraca). Parthenogenetic populations of this anostracan were described in the Canary Islands during the last decades of the 20th century, while the American Artemia franciscana species was recently found in the Cape Verde archipelago. Following an invasive pattern, this exotic species has recently reached the Canary Islands, too. This paper reports information dealing with biotope loss (solar saltworks) in this biogeographical region, together with possible consequences concerning the arrival of invasive species, two factors that frequently promote dramatic biodiversity losses. The discussion of this threat focuses mainly on the Canary Islands archipelago where native species of Artemia still exist.
Highlights
In a biogeographical context, the term Macaronesia broadly embraces the North Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores, Madeira, Selvagens, the Canary Islands, and Cape Verde
The term Macaronesia was coined by Engler [1] who recognized the unit as comprising only the Azores, Madeira, Selvagens and Canary Archipelagos
Later authors included the Cape Verde archipelago in the Macaronesian circumscription [2], and the unit was biogeographically enlarged with the inclusion of continental areas of North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula
Summary
Native Artemia in the Canary Islands need to be protected against the invasive A. franciscana already present in El Médano pool (Tenerife). In answer to Simberloff’s question about eliminating an invasion or living with it [39], with approaches relying on successful management projects, this invasive population should be eradicated, despite the general pessimism regarding the prospects of eradicating invasive species, which usually ends in managing them at acceptably low densities. It should be feasible to reach an economical and socially acceptable solution by changing El Médano, a closed and temporary pool, into an open pool with continuously flowing sea water, whereby low sea water salinity and predators should eradicate the invasive species. Authors' contributions LB, FA and IV prospected the saltworks in the region and collected Artemia cyst samples. All authors read and approved the final manuscript
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
