Artemia

Geographical distribution of Artemia in Iranian localities In the present investigation, a diversity of sources including academic research papers, comprehensive checklists, detailed project reports, and conference presentations, alongside firsthand personal observations, were utilized to document the presence and distribution of Artemia within Iran. In table 1 all identified Artemia natural habitats and aquaculture sites are characterized, organizing them by province. This tabulation is enriched with extensive details encompassing geographical coordinates, taxonomic status, and the specific dates of survey or sample collection. Additionally, the geographical distribution of these habitats is illustrated in figure 1. Natural resources Urmia Lake Urmia Lake (east of Urmia city, West Azerbaijan Province), was previously ranked as the 20th largest lake on a global scale, with its surface area spanning between 4750 and 6100 km 2 (Eimanifar & Mohebbi, 2007). The lake's diverse biological and ecological attributes led to its inclusion in the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands in 1975 (https://rsis.ramsar. org/), and it was subsequently designated as one of the 59 world biosphere reserves by UNESCO in 1976 (Asem et al. 2014, 2016 a). However, over the past twenty years, Urmia Lake has experienced a substantial decrease in its water level, primarily attributed to a series of environmental disturbances and human activities (Karimi et al., 2016; Golabian, 2011; Asem et al., 2012; Wurtsbaugh et al., 2017; Sima et al., 2021). Post-2007, there has been a marked increase in the lake's salinity, reaching saturation levels exceeding 300 g /l (Asem et al., 2012, 2019). The period between 1995 and 2013 saw the lake losing nearly 60 % of its surface area and over 90 % of its volume (Schulz et al., 2020). Concurrently, several resource assessments have indicated fluctuations in the population of A. urmiana, with egg densities varying from 339 eggs /liter in 1995, to less than 1 egg /liter between 2008–2012, and then rising to 4.6 eggs/liter during 2018–2020 (see Asem et al., 2012; Ahmadi, 2007; Ahmadi, 2005; Mohebbi et al., 2023 a, b). This environmental crisis has caused a drastic reduction in the annual production of Artemia eggs, decreasing from a minimum of 4243 t dry weight (in the top 0.5 m of water) in 1995 (Sorgeloos, 1997) to approximately 55 t dry weight (across the entire volume of the lake) in 2018 (Mohebbi et al., 2023 a). Prior to the drought, the total yield of Artemia eggs, harvested between 2000 and 2002, was estimated to be around 204,000 t (wet weight) (Mohebbi et al., 2023 a). Note: - The type of locality (natural resource/farming site) is not mentioned in this table. For more information, see the text and the original reference(s). - SUY = survey year; /SAY = sampling year - non-scientific names were shown in parentheses. - invalid specific name or invalid description were shown in brackets. - uncertain geographic coordinates were shown in parentheses. - The names of localities are in Persian or local languages/accents. Maybe different spellings have been used for a locality in different references - Phrases of “lake”, “pond”, “catchment”, “Lagoon” and etc. are used with widely explanation in Persian, maybe different phrases have been utilized for one locality in both Persian and English references. Here we followed popular statements in Persian. - symbol “?” was referred to non-confirmed taxonomic status and unknown locality. a in some old references “Urmia Lake” also called as “Lake Rezaiyeh” b non-scientific name c invalid name d binominal specific name has mistakenly been written Artemia uromiana. e binominal specific name has erroneously been written Artemia salinor. f see Hakupian (1990) g Artemia parthenogenetica is an invalid binominal specific name, in this table it was replaced to “Parthenogenetic Artemia ” (see Asem et al. 2024b). h It is also romanized as “Akh Gol” (Atashbar, 2014). Atashbar et al. (2014) reported Branchinecta orientalis from Agh Gol, but their recorded geographic coordinates (39°33' 18”N 44° 44' 10”E) 1.1 km is out of Agh Gol's shore. i It is also romanized as “Taschk Lake” (Löffler, 1959). It is also known as “Nargis Lake” (Löffler, 1956) and “Nargiz Lake” (Löffler, 1959). Noori (1995) mistakenly called this lake as “Neyriz Lake”. j It is also known as “Niris Lake” (Löffler, 1956) and “Niriz Lake” (Löffler, 1959). k It is also romanized as “Maharloo Lake” and “Maharlo Lake”. l It also romanized as “Schor-gol”, “Schor-Gol” and “Shor Gul” m This locality might be same as Incheh Lake n “Anbar Olum Pond” and “Mazraeye Nemuneh” are in Voshmgir District, in Aqqala County.These two sites might be referred to same locality. o It also known as “ Qom Salt Dome” (Alvandi & Asil, 2014). p Aliabad is referred to two localities in Qom Provins (34°48'0.79”N 51° 5'11.18”E and 34°17'1.88”N 50°43'20.13”E). q “Massileh” (mostly romanized as “Masileh”) is the name of plain and its most part is located in Qom Province (Rahmatizadeh & Jafari, 2014). The exact locality of Artemia site has not been reported. r “ Markazi Province ” is official term of the province in governmental documents in English (MOI, 2021). In some references it was erroneously named as “Central Province” (The word Markazi means central in Persian). s Löffler (1961) called it as “Gavkhaneh”. It is also known as “Gaav Khooni Lake” (Abatzopoulos et al., 2006a), “Gaav Khooni Wetland” (Aalamifar et al., 2014) and “Gavkhouni Marsh” (Goodarzi et al., 2014). t Abatzopoulos et al. (2006a) and Hafezieh et al. (2015) reported 30°80'E 61°50'N as geographic coordinates, it is referred to Russia (although 80' is also not correct, because maximum amount of each minute is 60 and 30°80'E should be changed to 31°20'E). We changed “N” and “E” following 30°80'N 61°50'E, it is referred to Afghanistan. In this table, the geographic coordinates refer to “Varmal Village”. u Several salty rivers named “Kal-e Shoor” in some provinces (Abatzopoulos et al., 2006a). Lengths of these rivers are several kilometers and the location of the sampling sites are mostly unclear. v Banihashemy, per. comm. (2022) w Abatzopoulos et al. (2006a) and Hafezieh et al. (2015) reported 35°10'E 57°58'N as geographic coordinates, it is referred to Russia. We changed “N” and “E” following 31°20'N 57°58'E, it is referred to Bardaskan County from Shahrabad District in Razavi Khorasan Province. x This site located along “Kal-e Shoor” river. y It is also known as Nough catchment (Abatzopoulos et al. 2006a; Hajirostamloo & Pourrabbi 2011; Eimanifar et al., 2014, 2020) and Nough Pool (Hajirostamloo et al., 2008a). This locality erroneously referred to Yazd Province by Agh et al. (2001). z Minab has been reported in its original reference (see Agh, 2016). The exact locality should be Tiab (Atashbar per. comm. 2023). Tiab is a village in Tiab Rural District of Minab County. The initial scientific documentation of Artemia, dating back to the first half of the 10 th century, originates from Urmia Lake and is attributed to the Iranian geographer, Abu-Ishaq Estakhri. In his seminal work, “Al-Masalik wa Al-Mamalik” (commonly known as “Roads and Kingdoms”), Estakhri referred to Artemia as the “aquatic dog”. This codex, penned between 930 and 933 A.D. (Asem & Eimanifar, 2016; Al-e-Dawoud, 1995). Illustrations in this codex, specifically page 107 depicting a map with Urmia Lake and page 109 detailing the lake and Artemia, are preserved in the Iranian Parliamentary Library. Subsequent to Estakhri's account, an anonymous Persian geographer made references to Artemia in the manuscript “Hadud Al-alam min Al-Mashriq Ilal-Maghrib” (translated as “The Limits of the World from the East to the West” and known also as “The regions of the world: A Persian geography”) in 982 A.D. (Anonymous, 982). This manuscript describes Artemia as a resilient worm capable of surviving in the saline waters of Urmia Lake (Asem, 2008). Later, in 1275 A.D., another Iranian geographer, Zakariya-Qazwini, reported the existence of an “aquatic dog” as the sole living organism in Urmia Lake in his work, “Asar Al-Beldan wa Akhbar Al-Ebad” (also known as “Monuments of the Land and Histories of the People”) (Zakariya-Qazwini 1275; Asem & Eimanifar, 2016). Furthermore, in 1877, Muhammad Etemad-Alsaltane, an Iranian politician, documented Artemia in Urmia Lake, describing it as a “herbal-morph animal” in his book “Merat Al-Boldan” (or “Mirror of Cities”) (Etemad-Alsaltane, 1877). In a later account by George Curzon, a British diplomat, in his 1892 publication “ Persia and the Persian Question”, Artemia from Urmia Lake was identified as a species akin to “Jelly-Fish” (Curzon, 1892; Sclater, 1893). This series of historical accounts confirms the long-standing recognition and significance of Artemia in the ecological study of Urmia Lake and its surrounding regions. In the later part of the 19th century, Robert Günther, a British zoologist, received a research grant from the Committee of the Royal Society in the United Kingdom to study the fauna and flora of Urmia Lake (Günther & Manley, 1899). During the initial stages of his research, in collaboration with his father Albert Günther, who held the position of Keeper of Zoology at the British Museum in London, the Artemia species in Urmia Lake were initially identified as a “Medusa” and a species of “ Branchipus ” (Günther, 1898 a), and later categorized within “the Artemia group of varieties of the Branchipus type ” (Günther, 1898 b). However, subsequent investigations led Robert Günther to ascertain that the specimens observed in Urmia Lake were indeed species of the genus Artemia (Günther, 1899a). Eventually in 1899, he described Artemia urmiana from Urmia Lake, illustrating a male specimen as well as the brood pouch of a female and the cercopod of both males and females (Günther, 1899 b). Notably, there has been some confusion regarding the nomenclature of A. urmiana. In certain references