Abstract
Determination of chlorophyll a is one of the most common methods for measuring the primary production in the lakes and sea water. We studied Artemia Leach. dynamics and chlorophyll a fluctuation and their relationship in Urmia Lake. Sampling was performed monthly during one year (2007) at eleven sampling stations in Urmia Lake. Population dynamics analysis of Artemia from Urmia Lake suggested that the highest diversity in various Artemia morphological stages was present from May to July and the highest densities in March. On the other hand, no morphological stages were observed, at all stations in the lake, from January to April. The mean chlorophyll a concentration in Urmia Lake was 0.8 µg.L-1, and the highest and the lowest concentrations of chlorophyll a were measured in June and July with 2.53 µg.L-1 and 0.1 µg.L-1 respectively. According to the Carlson classification Urmia Lake was oligothrophic. Artemia biomass appeared in the mid spring and bloomed in the summer. Generally, there was a negative relationship between Artemia population and chlorophyll a.
Highlights
Urmia lake is a thalasohaline lake and one of the most hypersaline lakes in the world (Abbaspour & Nazaridoust, 2007)
We studied Artemia Leach. dynamics and chlorophyll a fluctuation and their relationship in Urmia Lake
Analysis of population dynamics of Artemia from Urmia Lake showed that the maximum mean of different morphological structures of Artemia such as ‘nauplii + meta nauplii’, juvenile, adult males and adult females, were 565±84ind.m-3 in May; 6.7±3.2ind.m-3 in May; 187.8±6.8ind.m-3 in July and 146.7±35.1ind.m-3 in June respectively
Summary
Urmia lake is a thalasohaline lake and one of the most hypersaline lakes in the world (Abbaspour & Nazaridoust, 2007) It is located at 37o30 ́N and 45o30 ́E, with a surface area of 4 750 to 6 100Km2 and mean depth of 6.0m (Eimanifar & Mohebbi, 2007). Zooplankton species diversity is severely reduced in hypersaline (>50g/kg) lakes compared to less saline and fresh water lakes (Jelison & Melack, 2001) In this regard, Urmia Lake as a hypersaline lake has an extremely simple food chain. Urmia Lake as a hypersaline lake has an extremely simple food chain This makes it a very sensitive ecosystem (Abbaspour & Nazaridoust, 2007). The lake’s Artemia, that are affected by algae, are crucial from fisheries point of view (Sorgeloos et al, 1998; Mohebbi et al, 2006)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
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 call
