Abstract
Various animals respond differently to a variety of stimuli. This is because the environments in which they live, greatly determine the adaptation mechanisms they need to develop in order to sustain their existence. This experiment seeks to illustrate that Brine Shrimps can only survive in extremely salty conditions, and any reduction to the levels of alkalinity of a given environment only reduces their chances of survival. To this end, eggs of the species shall be subjected to different levels of conditions, with an aim of deciphering the conditions in which they respond positively in terms of hatching and survival. In the write up an introduction shall be made into the organism of investigation. The hypothesis of this experiment is to determine whether more alkalinity meant that more brine shrimps would be hatched or not. However, from the experiment an increase in alkalinity may not result to an increase in the number of brine shrimp larvae hatched. Finally, the results obtained shall be analyzed and a discussion made, from which the conclusion shall be drawn.
Introduction
Brine shrimps can be used as environmental indicators and this is because one of the fundamental requirements in the breeding them is a salty environment. They can leave in a varied concentration of salty water, ranging from 2.5% to 30% Brine. However, their optimum growing environment is a solution containing 8% salt. This is over twice the concentration of salt in sea water and only occurs in natural water bodies that have inlets and no outlets (Appel 17). Such masses get the salt levels to go up after soil erosion feeds them with natural salts collected over a period of time.
Therefore, if Brine Shrimps are seen in a water body, one can easily tell if it is salty or not depending on the numbers present. If there are numerous in number and their eggs appear to be hatching naturally, then one can confirm that the water is saltier than sea water. On the other hand if their numbers are very little, then one can confirm that the water body’s concentration is closer to fresh water. If one puts them in water and they die, then this indicates that the water is completely devoid of salt, or it contains over 30% salt.
The Brine Shrimp has also been used in space exploration to find out whether the outer spaces are fit for survival as well as how ultra violet rays affect the Artemia. It was found that the Brine Shrimp larvae are very sensitive to the cosmic rays especially the ultra violet rays from the sun. However, rare as well as other types of radiations, which are denser than ultraviolet rays, can harm them.
Brine Shrimps are tiny organisms that are found in the saline lakes. As the name suggests, the word Brine means a salt solution while the Shrimp is the organism itself (Wilkerson 34). Brine Shrimps usually live in salty water bodies that have inlets but no outlets. They are aquatic crustaceans that are about 1 cm long and have what looks like wings that enhance their movement in the water bodies. Brine Shrimps like any other creature that has life are categorized into female and male in nature and obtain food from marine life such as bacteria.
As far as diet is concerned, they can survive on baker’s yeast for the first one week. What the researcher needs to ensure is that he or she feeds the brine shrimps constantly, failure to which they will die at their larval stage. In addition, the researcher needs to ensure that he/she moves the brine shrimps to a new, larger container after the first two weeks of their life cycle (Sorgelous 19).
Their mode of reproduction is almost similar to that of other marine creatures (Loc 558). The creatures mate and the female Brine Shrimp gives birth to small young Brine Shrimps after which they release eggs into the water that hatch afterwards. The eggs of the Brine Shrimp cannot be hatched unless they are in a favorable environment mostly in salt-water bodies. It normally takes around six months before larval Shrimp reaches maturity. Brine Shrimps are categorized as among the sea creatures that are most salt tolerant (Moe 24). Apart from analyzing the life cycle of brine shrimps researchers are also usually interested in connecting findings of previous research to their core research. An example is where Brine shrimps can be used to investigate light as they seek it.
In addition, brine shrimps usually a few advantages to the people that rear them. These advantages include being purchased as fish food and being used for food chain analysis. It is important to note that brine shrimps can also be referred to as sea monkeys or fairy shrimp. For individuals wishing to purchase Brine shrimps, they are commonly found in the lake Mono in California while their eggs can be obtained from the Delta Education Centre or from fish stores (Wilkerson 34).
This introduction has exhaustively analyzed brine shrimps, covering where they survive, how they reproduce and their life cycle as well as how a researcher can rear them to get expected results and the advantages that one can get besides the intended investigation.
Method
Toothpicks were used to transfer the eggs of Artemia salina to the Petri dish. Each toothpick was marked 0.6 cm from the end. This is because it was estimated that if one dip a toothpick marked 0.6 cm from the end, then the average number of eggs that were stuck to the toothpick were approximately 100. At the initial stage of the experiment there was a need to add a 10 ml Brine solution to each Petri-dish. The toothpicks were wet with Brine solution before being dipped up to the 0.6 cm into the setup that contains the Brine Shrimp eggs.
The eggs were then transferred by submerging the toothpick into each of the Petri dish. It was important to keep on stirring until all the eggs were dislodged from the toothpick and transferred to the Petri dish. A fresh toothpick with the same marking was used every time Brine Shrimp eggs were transferred to each of the Petri dishes. After 168 hours, using a dissecting microscope was used to observe all four Petri dishes. The researchers then recorded the number of dead and live Brine Shrimps.
The eggs of Artemia Salina were handled under proper conditions in order to ensure that all the eggs used in the study were alive. Afterwards, the dishes were labeled according to the amount of toxins that were applied. In Petri dish #1, 0.1 ml of toxin was added. In Petri dish #2, 0.25 ml, Petri dish #3, 0.5 ml and in Petri dish #4, there was no need to add the toxin.
Results
In Petri dish #1 the Brine solution was infused with a 0.1 ml of the toxin. After 168 hours, the prescribed time period to wait and observe the effect of the toxin, it was discovered that there was a 97% rate of mortality. The same procedure was used for Petri dish #2 and the only difference is the 0.25 ml infusion of toxin. It was discovered that there was also a 97% mortality rate. Petri dish #3 had a higher concentration of toxin at 0.5 ml but the mortality rate was less at 94%. Interestingly, the Petri dish #4 also exhibited a high mortality rate at 96%.
It was also discovered that Artemia salina was highly sensitive to the assigned toxin. At the same time the effect of the toxic substance to the morphology of the Brine Shrimp was also observed. The change was confirmed when the results were examined under a microscope. The researchers pointed out that the organism was negatively affected by the toxicant because of the failure in development of appendages and mandible function as well as the absence of anal opening and the presence of darker color, the signal that there was abnormality.
It was also reported that a dead egg can also mean that it did not mature. It was therefore made clear that the toxin was able to affect the Brine Shrimp eggs. It was also made clear that the effect of the toxin was also evident in the development of the hatchlings. However, it must be noted that in Petri dish #4, where no toxin was used, the mortality rate was still high.
Discussion
In preparation for the above experiment, a natural environment for the survival of Brine Shrimps was designed through the infusion of a salt concentrate into the Petri dishes. Proper lighting was also confirmed because from studies done earlier, it was discovered that Brine Shrimps are respond positively to light, in their hatching. The fourth Petri dish, which did not have toxins added, was used as a control, just to help confirm the results of the other Petri dishes as having been influenced by the presence of the toxin.
From the findings, the Brine Shrimps in the Petri dishes that were infused with lower percentages (0.1ml and 0.25ml) of toxin presented with high mortality rates, indicative of an undesirable environment to sustain the life of the Shrimps. With an increase in the amount of toxins to 0.5ml, the mortality appeared to decrease, therefore, showing that the environment was getting friendlier.
From these observations, it is easy to deduce that the toxins had a way of increasing the salt levels in the respective Petri dish. With the salt levels increased, the Brine Shrimp eggs could hatch owing to the conduciveness of the environment, hence the higher number of survivors. The toxins, however, had to be infused into the solution in high numbers, in order for their salinity-increasing levels to reach optimum levels.
The Petri dish that did not have toxins added, presented a high mortality rate because the concentration of the Brine in it was not strong enough to sustain the hatching of the eggs and the maturation of the Shrimps. Because no toxins were added to this dish, there was nothing that could increase the salinity, and therefore, the environment was not conducive for the shrimps to hatch and mature properly.
The findings of the project therefore lead us to confirm the hypothesis that Brine Shrimps can overcome adversely toxic conditions, as long as the environment in which they are in is salty. As an indicator species, the Brine Shrimps’ response in this experiment was a pin pointer of artificial activism, which led to either increase in the alkalinity levels of the water body. The absence or low presence of this artificial activism indicated no positive change in the levels of alkaline found in the solution.
Conclusion
This experiment has proven that Brine Shrimps are an aquatic species that needs higher than average seawater levels of alkalinity to survive. By active participation in the project, the researcher has been in a position to confirm facts that have been written about before, on a first-hand basis. The expectations, going into the experiment were met as it was shown that Brine Shrimp eggs will hatch and the larvae mature if the environment they are in is substantially alkaline. It was also confirmed that Brine Shrimps can overcome toxins, provided their immediate environment encourages their sustenance, in terms of saltiness. The findings made have further contributes to scholarly discussions on the Brine Shrimps. It is, however, the recommendation of this researcher that more experiments be conducted to further investigate the character of Brine Shrimps, particularly in regards to their response to light. This will help understand the further and top up the discussion on their usage as environment indicators.
Works Cited
Appel, Susan. Hands-on Science: Arthropods. Portland: Walch Publishing, 1988. Print.
Loc, Head. Brine Shrimp Encyclopaedia Americana. New York: Culture Society, 1993. Print
Moe, Martin. Breeding the Orchid Dotty Back. Haleiwa: Green Turtle Publications, 1997. Print.
Sorgelous, Patrick. Updated Bibliography on Brine Shrimp. California: European marc, 1980. Print.
Wilkerson, Joyce. Cowfishes: A Guide to their Captive Care, Breeding, & Natural History. Neptune: TFH Publications, Inc., 1998. Print.