The American brine shrimp as an exotic invasive species in the western Mediterranean

Abstract

The hypersaline environments and salterns present in the western Mediterranean region (including Italy, southern France, the Iberian Peninsula and Morocco) contain autochthonous forms of the brine shrimp Artemia, with parthenogenetic diploid and tetraploid strains coexisting with the bisexual species A. salina. Introduced populations of the American brine shrimp A. franciscana have also been recorded in these Mediterranean environments since the 1980s. Based on brine shrimp cyst samples collected in these countries from 1980 until 2002, we were able to establish the present distribution of autochthonous brine shrimps and of A. franciscana, which is shown to be an expanding invasive species. The results obtained show that A. franciscana is now the dominant Artemia species in Portuguese salterns, along the French Mediterranean coast and in Cadiz bay (Spain). Co-occurrence of autochthonous (parthenogenetic) and American brine shrimp populations was observed in Morocco (Mar Chica) and France (Aigues Mortes), whereas A. franciscana was not found in Italian cyst samples. The results suggest these exotic A. franciscana populations originate as intentional or non-intentional inoculations through aquacultural (hatchery effluents) or pet market activities, and suggest that the native species can be rapidly replaced by the exotic species.

Biodiversity conservation including uncharismatic species

“…Some cases have been reported, for instance the invasive species Artemia franciscana (commercially used in aquaculture as food for fishes) in Europe Amat et al 2005), which has replaced several populations of native and endemic Mediterranean Artemia species since 1980's, or Daphnia lumholtzi in United States . With this strategy the invertebrate invasive species spread more easily, even ''helped'' again by humans through the protective strategy of waterbirds.…”

Genetic characterization of Argentinean Artemia species with different fatty acid profiles

“…It is likely that A. franciscana has dispersed in the different Argentinean ecosystems via inoculation or waterfowl, as demonstrated in the Mediterranean basin by Amat et al (2005) and Green et al (2005). However, more studies are needed for a thorough examination of patterns of genetic structure and distribution of A. franciscana in Argentinean sites.…”

Behavioural and population responses to changing availability of Artemia prey by moulting black-necked grebes, Podiceps nigricollis

“…This study highlights the value of studying foraging behaviour to infer the effects of changing habitat conditions on population dynamics and also has implications for conservation. The moulting grebe population in the Odiel marshes is highly dependent on the population of A. parthenogenetica, which is under threat of possible invasion by the invasive A. franciscana, which has eliminated native Artemia from many sites in the Iberian Peninsula (Amat et al, 2005) and appears to be a less suitable prey for waterbirds. In addition, the corixid Trichocorixa verticalis has a major predatory effect on Artemia in its native range in North America (Wurtsbaugh, 1992) and has recently invaded areas close to the Odiel marshes (Rodrí-guez-Pérez et al, 2009;Van de Meutter et al, 2010).…”