Aspects of the reproduction of Artemia spp. in salt ponds of Norheastern Brazil

Abstract

The Northeast of Brazil, by its climatic conditions of low rain high temperature and high evaporation levei, offers excellent possibilities to install salt ponds and, consequently, to produce Artemia. Reproduction is one the most important physiological aspects when large scale production of some species is looked for. Despite the productive potential of Artemia in Northeast Brazil, few studies were made on this aspect. The studied populations were born in five salt ponds of Ceará and five ones of Rio Grande do Norte states, and the observations in laboratory began with the counting of the number of eggs per female followed by the isolation of the pairs in arder to set up the intervals between the reproductive periods, number of nauplii born per reproductive periods, measure of eggs, and isolation of nauplii to watch the occurrence
of parthenogenesis. The number of eggs per female has revealed statistically significant differences from one place to another. The interval between the reproductive periods, the diameter of eggs and the number of nauplii per reproductive period have not presented statistically significant variations. Ali the Artemia specimens in the studied samples have proved to be bisexual.