Biodiversity, History, and Ecological Risks of Iranian Artemia (with Emphasis on Urmia Lake Artemia)

Mohebbi, Fereidun; Asem, Alireza

doi:10.22111/jneh.2025.53441.2140

Biodiversity, History, and Ecological Risks of Iranian Artemia (with Emphasis on Urmia Lake Artemia)

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

Fereidun Mohebbi ¹
Alireza Asem ²

¹ Assistant Professor, Department of Forest and Rangeland, Research and Agriculture Education Center of West Azarbaijan, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization, Urmia, Iran

² Assistant professor, College of Fisheries and Life Science, Hainan Tropical Ocean University, Sanya 572022, China

10.22111/jneh.2025.53441.2140

Abstract

Lake Urmia, the largest natural habitat of Artemia in Iran, is on the verge of extinction. About 125 years ago, British biologist Robert Günther named the Lake Urmia brine shrimp under the species Artemia urmiana. According to the latest checklist, there are 59 locations across Iran where Artemia has been scientifically recorded or reported. This study aims to review the ecological hazards of Artemia in Iran, with an emphasis on Lake Urmia brine shrimp. The research methodology is based on studies conducted by the authors of the article and searches in the most important search systems on the Internet. Based on the findings of this study, as the water level of Lake Urmia continued to decline over the past two decades, the egg density decreased from 339 eggs per liter in 1994 to less than 1 egg per liter between 2007 and 2011 and 0.012 eggs per liter in October 2014, and no adult nauplii or Artemia were observed in the lake. Accordingly, in the latest Artemia checklist in 2024, it was suggested that the species Artemia urmiana should be listed as a “Critically Endangered” species in the “Regional Red List” of Iran. The results of the study show that all natural Artemia habitats, especially Lake Urmia, are in critical ecological conditions. On the other hand, the lack of studies on hermaphrodite Artemia and the presence of the invasive Artemia Franciscana as a non-native species from North America in these habitats have complicated the data related to Artemia biodiversity in Iran. The lack of new data and the heterogeneity of the methodology for assessing Artemia populations, especially in Lake Urmia, have made accurate analysis of biodiversity data challenging. Overall, it is necessary to fundamentally revise the management of water resources in these habitats.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Environmental Hazards

References

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