Abstract

New parthenogenetic and gonochoristic populations of Artemia were found along the French Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts. The taxonomic identity of these new populations was determined based upon: i) an analysis of the variation in the caudal gene, ii) morphology of the penis and frontal knob of male specimens using scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) and iii) a principal coordinate analysis of selected biometric traits. This analysis showed that all French gonochoristic populations of Artemia were comprised of the New World species A. franciscana (Kellogg, 1906) and not the Mediterranean native species, A. salina. As well, the parthenogenetic populations of Artemia in France are being rapidly replaced populations by the North America A. franciscana. This is a concern for all the European Atlantic and Mediterranean regions and is another example of a New World invasive species potentially decreasing European biodiversity.

Highlights

  • The genus Artemia (Leach, 1819) (Branchiopoda, Anostraca) is a cosmopolitan taxon having gonochoristic and parthenogenetic strains and is typically restricted to saline habitats such as saltmarshes, saltlands or lakes (Daday 1910; Persoone and Sorgeloos 1980; Vanhaecke et al 1987; Triantaphyllidis et al 1998)

  • Within our twenty different collections from French Artemia shore sites, six localities had previously been determined to be inhabited by a parthenogenetic strain (Luneville; Mesquer; Guérande; Aigues-Mortes; La Palme; Giraud; Triantaphyllidis et al 1998) while six had never been examined: five on the Atlantic coast (Noirmoutier; St Hilaire de Riez; Ile d’Olonne; Talmont St Hilaire; Ile d’Oléron) and one on the Mediterranean coast (Gruissan) (Table 1, Appendix 1 and 2)

  • Vanhaecke et al (1987) did not detect male specimens in this locality in 1987 and Amat et al revealed the presence of this exotic invasive species since 2002 (Amat et al 2005); our results suggest that A. franciscana was introduced to this site sometime between 1987 and 1994

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Summary

Introduction

The genus Artemia (Leach, 1819) (Branchiopoda, Anostraca) is a cosmopolitan taxon having gonochoristic and parthenogenetic strains and is typically restricted to saline habitats such as saltmarshes, saltlands or lakes (Daday 1910; Persoone and Sorgeloos 1980; Vanhaecke et al 1987; Triantaphyllidis et al 1998). Since the first observations of Artemia near Marseille and in the Hérault department during the 1800s (Audouin 1836; Joly 1840), the all populations in France were considered to be parthenogenetic Artemia (Bowen and Sterling, 1978) (Simon 1886; Labbé 1925; Artom 1931; Mathias 1932, 1937) based on the absence of male specimens. Some populations from the Atlantic (Mesquer; Guérande) and Mediterranean French coasts (Sète; Villeneuve; Joly 1840; Labbé 1925; Artom 1931; Mathias 1932) have been re-classified as gonochoristic due to frequent observations of males (Maillard and Baudet 1980; Thiéry et al 1990, 1992). The possible introduction of A. franciscana (Kellogg, 1906), a North American gonochoristic species exported commercially around the world, into France was considered but not verified by several authors (Maillard and Baudet 1980; Defaye et al 1998)

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