Ecology of the brine shrimp Artemia in the Yucatan, Mexico, Salterns

Abstract

One year of field data on the Yucatan, Mexico, North Coast hypersaline pools and salterns revealed extreme alkalinity, salinity and temperature conditions, hypoxia and in some instances, total desiccation. The four locations were similar in water temperature, nitrites, and phosphates, but differed in salinity, oxygen content, water depth, nitrates, ammonia, silicates, carbonates, sulfates, and pH. The dominant multicellular organism in these hypersaline ecosystems is Artemia, the brine shrimp. Artemia abundance and population dynamics were significantly correlated with specific environmental conditions, most often water temperature, salinity, and oxygen concentration. The different schedules of Artemia and cyst production at each location suggest habitat partitioning among the brine shrimp populations across the North Coast of the Yucatan Peninsula. Our results provide an ecological basis for rational management of these endangered hypersaline ecosystems.