INTERNATIONAL STUDY ON ARTEMIA .49. SALINITY EFFECTS ON SURVIVAL, MATURITY, GROWTH, BIOMETRICS, REPRODUCTIVE AND LIFE-SPAN CHARACTERISTICS OF A BISEXUAL AND A PARTHENOGENETIC POPULATION OF ARTEMIA

Two Artemia populations, a bisexual from San Francisco Bay (California , USA) and a parthenogenetic from Tanggu area (Tianjin province, Peopl e's Republic of China) are assayed for their tolerance and fitness in various salinity levels. This study was carried out under laboratory c onditions where salinity effects upon special characteristics of the t wo Artemia populations, such as survival, growth rate, maturation, mor phology, fecundity and life duration, were recorded. This evaluation r evealed that the two populations examined exhibit significant differen ces in their response against elevated salinity levels. Furthermore, s pecific biometric parameters can be a useful tool for the discriminati on and/or determination of their distribution in a mixed population, w hich, in fact, is the case in Tanggu salt works. Artemia franciscana s eems to be a more effective colonizer at higher salinities. The data p resented in this study may generate useful suggestions for proper mana gement of the solar saltworks at Tanggu although further experimentati on is needed.