ARTEMIA AND ITS IMPORTANCE IN SHELLFISH NUTRITION Brine shrimp are small members of the fairy shrimp order Anostraca, generally reaching only 0.6 inches (15 mm) in length. The brine shrimp's body is distinctly separated into head, thorax, and abdomen. Color of brine shrimp varies from nearly hyaline (glasslike, colorless, or transparent) to a bright red. Brine shrimp are found in inland salt waters worldwide, in such places as salt lakes and salt marshes e.g., (Great salt lake in US) Common name of the brine shrimp is SEA MONKEY

SYSTEMATIC CLASSIFICATION Phylum-Arthropoda Class -Branchiopoda Order -Anostraca Family -Artemidae Genus -Artemia Why are Brine Shrimp important? The brine shrimp (Artemia salina) is an important organism in the Great Salt Lake ecosystem. Without them, all of the birds that use the Great Salt Lake as a stop along their migratory path would be unable to obtain the nourishment required for their long and strenuous trip. Some prominent birds that use the Great Salt Lake are the Eared Grebe  and Wilson's Phalarope. 

LIFE CYCLE OF BRINE SHRIMP…

Reproduction in Brine Shrimp The brine shrimp have a simple life cycle that is very well suited for the environment that they live in. They are one of the few multicellular organisms that have flourished in the Great Salt Lake. The baby brine shrimp hatch in the spring from hard shelled egg like spheres called cysts. After hatching from the cyst, the shrimp grows extremely very fast.   As juveniles  they possess  only one eye, but as adults they develop two eyes.  The majority of brine shrimp are females. This is important because the females are able to fertilize their own eggs without the assistance of  the male brine shrimp. This method of reproduction is called parthenogenesis.

SIGNIFICANCE Brine shrimp have commercial, scientific, and research values. The nutritional properties of newly hatched brine shrimp make them particularly suitable to be sold as fish food, as they are high in lipids and protein a low level of unsaturated fatty acids (but low in calcium). Cysts of Artemia are harvested around salt lakes, such as Great Salt Lake in Utah, Caspian Basin, where they float in large masses, and are hatched to feed fish larvae. Brine shrimp are known to improve salt production in brine pools and thus are used in commercial salt production. This short life span of brine shrimp, and other characteristics such as their ability to remain dormant for long periods, have made them invaluable in scientific research.