Abstract
Field surveys were conducted in order to collect information on the occurrence of wild Artemia populations in hypersaline environments such as salt lakes, lagoons and salty rivers. The mating behaviour of Artemia populations and the presence or absence of males were carefully recorded. Sampling involved the use of plankton nets. Collected cysts were characterized on the basis of their diameter and chorion thickness, while nauplii (instar-I) were characterized on the basis of their total length. Artemia populations were found at 17 different geographical locations scattered over 12 Iranian provinces. All Iranian Artemia populations are parthenogenetic with the exception of Artemia urmiana from Urmia Lake. During the last five years severe salinity increase has caused a dramatic reduction of population sizes in several hypersaline settings in Iran. The study of cyst and naupliar biometry revealed substantial differences between populations and can be used, to some extent, for their discrimination. Cyst diameter mean values range from 243.2 to 285.4 μm. For some Iranian parthenogens, cyst diameters were among the smallest recorded so far for parthenogenetic Artemia. The total length of newly hatched nauplii ranges from 455.5 to 529.8 μm.
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 callMore From: Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom
Disclaimer: 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.
