The results of a study of the hydrochemical and production characteristics of Artemia spp. in eight different types of lakes in southern Western Siberia are presented. The research was conducted from July to October 2024. All of the studied lakes are shallow, with the maximum depth recorded in Lake Bolshoye Yarovoye (7.4 m) and Lake Maloye Yarovoye (5.0 m). They are located in the arid and semi-arid zones of the Kulunda Plain. The salinity of the studied lakes in the Altai Krai varied greatly, ranging from 41.2 ± 1.3 (Lake Maloe Shklo) to 251 ± 36 g/L (Lake Kuchuk). Based on the results of hydrochemical analysis, three types of lakes were identified: hydrocarbonate (Lake Tanatar III) with a dominant bisexual population of Artemia sp. Kazakhstan, sulphate (Lake Mormyshanskoe) with a dominant parthenogenetic population of A. parthenogenetica, and chloride (lakes Kuchuk, Kulunda, Maloye Yarovoye, Bolshoye Yarovoye, Maloye Shklo, Malinovoye) – represented by both populations (parthenogenetic and bisexual). We studied 817 females of Artemia parthenogenetic and bisexual populations for morphometric analysis. The overall fertility of Artemia sp. Kazakhstan and A. parthenogenetica females does not differ significantly. However, a significant difference was found in the fertility of female crustaceans inhabiting chloride and sulphate lakes (Kruskal – Wallis test H = 18.13; p < 0.01) and hydrocarbonate lakes (H = 16.40; p < 0.01). No significant difference was found between females from sulphate and hydrocarbonate lakes (p > 0.05). Thus, females from hyperhaline chloride lakes are characterised by the lowest fertility. The most informative morphometric indicators for assessing productivity are the dimensional characteristics of the ovary. Females of the chloride-type lake crustacean had the smallest ovary length and width, which is one of the reasons for their lowest fertility.
Keywords: hyperhaline lakes, branchiopods, parthenogenetic and bisexual populations, lake types, salinity
Article published in number 3 for 2026 DOI: 10.25750/1995-4301-2026-3-191-199
ISSN 1995-4301
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