Educational Media Reviews Online

Artemia or brine shrimps are unique among animals. The species appears to have survived for over 200 million years essentially unchanged by evolution. What is perhaps more remarkable is the ability of the encysted embryos of Artemia to survive conditions far more hostile than those any other animal egg or cyst could possibly sustain. Scientists in Austria, Belgium and the US have studied Artemia to learn how it can accomplish these dual feats of survival. The shrimp can live only in ponds left standing after rain or in highly saline lakes such as the Great Salt Lake of Utah, and its lifespan is very brief. When survival becomes problematic, Artemia resorts to its cyst state. It is likely that such cysts can survive extreme environmental conditions for thousands of years.

The scene shifts to modern-day aquaculture. Artemia are ideal food for several species of lucrative aquaculture fish species, and the cultivation of Artemia has become big business. Scientists have learned how to treat Artemia with antibiotics, which the target fish species then acquire by eating the shrimp.

This video provides a captivating introduction to an animal that plays an important role in the study of evolution and as a food for commercially important aquaculture species. Recommended for libraries with nonbook collections in evolutionary biology and ecology.