1. Topic 2: Ecosystem Function
Brine Shrimp Ecology 1
BRINE SHRIMPS
The following slides are based on information taken
from “Brine Shrimp Ecology”
by Stephen Tomkins & Michael Dockery. First published
by the British Ecological Society 2000

2. Topic 2: Ecosystem Function
Brine Shrimp Ecology 1
What is a brine
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1 mm
1 mm
Adult male brine shrimp Adult female brine shrimp
Artemia franciscana Artemia franciscana
© BES Brine Shrimp Ecology Project: Homerton College Cambridge 85
84 © BES Brine Shrimp Ecology Project: Homerton College Cambridge

3. Topic 2: Ecosystem Function
Brine Shrimp Ecology 1
• aquatic crustaceans
• live in salt lakes
• usually in sub tropical areas

4. times as much salt as this and so have a high relative density.
Brine shrimps have a head, a middle (thorax) and a tail (abdomen). Brine shrimps usually
move about on their backs, upside down with their leafy-legs uppermost, unlike other
Topic 2: Ecosystem Function
more familiar crustaceans such as woodlice. The eleven pairs of leafy-legs are used as
filters, for swimming along in the water and as gills. On the front of the head are two little
black eyes. There are also two small antennae which stick out forward. These are hard to
see without magnification. These are sensory structures for feeling the environment ahead.
Further back are two large antennae. Young shrimp larvae are called nauplii (nor-plee-ee).
They grow up in about two to four weeks. When nearly fully grown the sexes may be told
apart quite easily.
Brine Shrimp Ecology 1
In the male the second antennae develop into large, hooked claspers. The males have a
translucent body and are sometimes greeny-blue. The females are brown/red in colour
and a have a bundle of eggs in a brood-pouch half way along the body. In the brood-
pouch eggs are fertilised and protected by the mother. When males and females are adult
Like all crustaceans they have:
they pair up. These tandem pairs, of a female at the front and a male behind, go around
together, like people on a bicycle made for two. In this position the two animals swim for
many hours, and even days.
• head Male
small antenna
compound eye
second
Female
median eye
antenna
• thorax
large second
mandible
gut
labellum
antenna or clasper
• abdomen leafy-leg
(phyllopodium)
thorax
•
penis brood-pouch
eyes abdomen
egg
anus
• antennae
8
Know your brine shrimp anatomy
1 mm
© BES Brine Shrimp Ecology Project: Homerton College Cambridge

5. times as much salt as this and so have a high relative density.
Brine shrimps have a head, a middle (thorax) and a tail (abdomen). Brine shrimps usually
move about on their backs, upside down with their leafy-legs uppermost, unlike other
Topic 2: Ecosystem Function
more familiar crustaceans such as woodlice. The eleven pairs of leafy-legs are used as
filters, for swimming along in the water and as gills. On the front of the head are two little
black eyes. There are also two small antennae which stick out forward. These are hard to
see without magnification. These are sensory structures for feeling the environment ahead.
Further back are two large antennae. Young shrimp larvae are called nauplii (nor-plee-ee).
They grow up in about two to four weeks. When nearly fully grown the sexes may be told
apart quite easily.
Brine Shrimp Ecology 1
In the male the second antennae develop into large, hooked claspers. The males have a
translucent body and are sometimes greeny-blue. The females are brown/red in colour
and a have a bundle of eggs in a brood-pouch half way along the body. In the brood-
pouch eggs are fertilised and protected by the mother. When males and females are adult
Why do they have leafy legs?
they pair up. These tandem pairs, of a female at the front and a male behind, go around
together, like people on a bicycle made for two. In this position the two animals swim for
many hours, and even days.
Male Female
small antenna
median eye
second
compound eye
antenna
mandible labellum
large second gut
antenna or clasper
thorax
leafy-leg
(phyllopodium)
penis brood-pouch
egg
abdomen
anus
1 mm
Know your brine shrimp anatomy
8 © BES Brine Shrimp Ecology Project: Homerton College Cambridge

6. Topic 2: Ecosystem Function
Brine Shrimp Ecology 1
• Young shrimp larvae are called nauplii
• They grow up in about two to four weeks.
• When nearly fully grown the sexes may be told apart
quite easily.

7. Topic 2: Ecosystem Function
Brine Shrimp Ecology 1
© BES Brine Shrimp Ecology Project: Homerton College Cambridge
0.1 mm
Top row: Embryonic stages, inside the egg cysts, prior to hatching
Bottom row: The nauplius larva before, during and after hatching
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8. Topic 2: Ecosystem Function
Brine Shrimp Ecology 1
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© BES Brine Shrimp Ecology Project: Homerton College Cambridge
1 mm
Growth Stages of the brine shrimp
Artemia franciscana

9. Topic 2: Ecosystem Function
Brine Shrimp Ecology 1
Setting up a Brine Shrimp colony in a plastic bottle
• Make up the desired volume of tap water and sea salt at a
concentration of 35 g salt per litre (3.5%).
• Set up the bottle container with 2-3 cm depth of washed
sand and oyster shell or crushed limestone (3 part sand to
1 part shell). This will be the home for the ecosystem
decomposers.
• Test the pH to make sure it is alkaline. Sodium carbonate
may need to be added to get the pH to the optimum of 8.5.

10. Topic 2: Ecosystem Function
Brine Shrimp Ecology 1
Setting up a Brine Shrimp colony in a plastic bottle
• Add one drop only of liquid fertiliser (e.g. Baby Bio) per
litre. Keep the culture well lit and warm, preferably up to
about 25° C, for a week.
• After one week, there should be signs of green algal
growth. Now add a pinch of brine shrimp egg cysts. These
keep indefinitely in a cool, dry environment and will hatch
quickly in warm, salty water.
• After 48 hours there will be many small shrimp larvae.

11. Topic 2: Ecosystem Function
Brine Shrimp Ecology 1
Setting up a Brine Shrimp colony in a plastic bottle
• Initially add one drop of fertiliser per litre per week.
Fertiliser is used directly by the algae as a nutrient. The
algae are eaten by the shrimps.
• The ecosystem should eventually support 12 adult shrimps
to the litre.
• Once the full population has developed the addition of
fertiliser should be reduced.
• Over-dosing with fertiliser will kill the algae. Try not to have
too much algal growth visible.

12. Topic 2: Ecosystem Function
Brine Shrimp Ecology 1
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• The finished result should Salt Water
look something like this
Living Community
(containing the brine
shrimp Artemia, algae
and micro-organisms)
More detailed notes are available from Mineral Substrate
http://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/articles/education/resources/curriculum/
brineshrimp/Brine_Shrimps-high.pdf/ The brine shrimp bottle ecosystem
90 © BES Brine Shrimp Ecology Project: Homerton College Cambridge