To launch the new International Artemia Aquaculture Consortium, led by Patrick Sorgeloos, this conference series brings together professionals working on Artemia from all around the world. This event was a presentation on the world of Artemia for Saxon Bosworth, who was researching Artemia for an article for National Geographic. A video recording of the presentations is enclosed.

This monograph is written on the basis of studies carried out in the Siberian region from 1995 to 2004. The location of 83 Artemia lakes in huge territory from the Urals to the Altai and Sayan mountains, the characteristic of climate, lake morphometry, hydrology, hydrochemical classification of lakes are given in the monograph. Detailed description of biocenoses of salt lakes, including data on species composition of phytoplankton, zoobenthos and zooplankton and their productivity is presented in the paper. Functional dependence between number of species and index of water salinity is identified. The borders of occurrence of some species are determined.

The main part of monograph is devoted by the description of Artemia biology and morphometric studies for populations from 47 surveyed lakes in Siberia. Annual dynamics of brine shrimp cysts and crustaceans are documented based on monitoring data. The functioning of the ecosystems of the lakes are described including phytoplankton and Artemia production, crustacean consumption, and Artemia's role in purification of reservoirs. Information about parthenogenetic and rare bisexual populations is provided and data from cytogenetic studies and DNA analysis are given. The problem of improving the quality of cysts associated with diapause is presented. In conclusion, the data on long­-term dynamics of Artemia cysts stock in Siberian region were conducted.

In recent years the brine shrimp, Artemia salina, has become increasingly important as a useful model system for biochemical studies of development. This volume contains the proceedings of a symposium on Artemia biochemistry - the first of its kind - held July 7, 1979 in Toronto. The speakers came from fourteen different laboratories in seven countries to present their work and to exchange ideas and information. All the participants were, of course, familiar with the developmental biology of Artemia.

Artemia salina is a small anostracan crustacean found in hypersaline bodies of water throughout the world. Fertilization occurs internally, and embryos develop in the ovisac of the female up to the early gastrula stage. At this point two pathways are possible. The embryos may continue to develop inside the ovisac, giving rise to free- swimming nauplius larvae, which are released. Alternatively, the embryos may enter a dormant state (cryptobiosis) and become encysted in a hard, chitinous shell. The dormant cysts are expelled from the ovisac and are dessicated first osmotically, then by wind and sun after being washed ashore. The encysted embryos, commonly but erroneously called brine shrimp "eggs", are collected and sold to aquarium suppliers and hatcheries. About 16 hours after immersion of cysts in sea water at 30 C, nauplius larvae hatch out. The larvae will continue to develop synchronously for two days without feeding, and even longer if fed. Many interesting biochemical phenomena can be observed and studied during this period of embryonic and larval development in Artemia - and therein lies the subject of this book.