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Abstract: In recent years, extension of Artemia applications in aquaculture and decreasing of natural resource, lead many of related studies to the distribution of Artemia population and new resource assessment studies. Urmia Lake as one the biggest habitat for Artemia because of ecological variations in the regions in which of its differentiations in cyst biometry and Artemia, moreover some genetic variations suggested to have some several Artemia populations in the Lake. In this project Artemia cyst samples were collected from 5 ecological stations of the Lake Urmia. The cyst hatching and the nauplii breeding up to adult Artemia stage were done according to optimum conditions in laboratory. Growth rate and survival of larva in days of 3, 5, 7, 11, 15, 20 of rearing period were measured in feeding with a complex of Dunaliella tertiolecta and Lanzy PZ for a period of 20 days in 75 and 150 ppt. Data and its statistical analysis revealed that according to previously records the growth rate of the Artemia was influenced by increasing the salinity from 75 to 150 ppt survival and growth rate of Artemia have been influenced by water salinity (P<0.05) but increasing the salinity only in two population of Bari and Eslami led decreasing of survival. The produced cysts in two salinity showed that Artemia population can produce the cysts with different diameter and there were not any statistic correlations between the salinity and populations. The Dandrogarm of population statistic analysis emphasized that according to growth rate and survival parameters and among populations under this test there were 4 different populations of Artemia urmiana in which had interesting differentiations in growth rate and survival. Keywords: Artemia, Survival, Growth rate, Salinity, Urmia Lake.

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The effect of four light intensities (0, 100, 2000 and 5000 lux) on some reproductive charachteristicsof Artemiaurmianabroodstocks was investigated. 30 male and female individuals were reared in 3 liter containers until the death of all females over the consecutive weeks. Results showed significant differences in terms of average weekly offspring productions among the treatments. The broodstocks cultured in 5000 lux had an increasing trend in offspring production from the first to the fifth week, but a decreasing trend from the sixth to the tenth week. A relatively similar situation was observed in the 2000 lux treatment. The broodstocks cultured in 0 and 100 lux intensities had reduction fluctuations in offspring production from the first to the sixth and seventh weeks, respectively. The highest percentages of egg-sac females were observed in the early and mid-raising weeks, showing the maximum in the mid-week (until the fifth week) in all treatments. In most weeks, a considerable increase was detected in the encysted embryos production in the broodstocks reared in 0 and 100 lux intensities as compared with 2000 and 5000 lux intensities. The survival percentage of broodstocks at the end of the fifth week was 95, 86, 23 and 30 % (in order from high to low levels of light intensities).Considering the increased production of offspring and higher survival rate in the broodstocks as well as the increase in egg-sacsfemales (during the first five weeks), it is recommended that the light intensity of 5000 lux is useful for the mass culture of A. urmianain hatchery reared broodstock.

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The growth performance of cyprinids larvae (Cyprinuscarpio,Hypophthalmichthysnobilisand Ctenopharyngodonidella) fed with the nauplii fromdifferentArtemiaspecies, including A. parthenogenetica, A. fransiscanaand A. urmiana as well as a probiotic mixture (Bacillus subtilis and B. licheniformis) was investigated. Fish larvae (100±15 mg) were allocated into 54 circular fiberglass tanks filled with 10 liters of water (density of 5 fish per liter) and fed for 4 weeks with the designated diets. At the end of the feeding trial, feed and growth indices [final weight, specific growth rate (SGR), condition factor (CF) and food efficiency] and body composition (crude protein, crude lipid, ash and moisture) were assessed. Significant differences were observed in feed and growth parameters especially in terms of specific growth rate and feed efficiency (P< 0.05). The highest and lowest growth and feeding efficiency were observed in C. idella fed with A. parthenogeneticanauplii and H.nobilis fed with A. urmiananauplii,respectively. Subsequently, elevated growth performance (final weight, final length and SGR) was observed in C. idella fed with nauplii of A. parthenogenetica and probiotic compared to other group (P < 0.05).

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The effect of three probiotics (Lactobacillus plantarum, L. casei and Bacillus subtilis) on growth and survival of artemia against a pathogenic bacteria, Vibrio campbellii, in gnotobiotic conditions were investigated. A total of 1560 nauplii were equally transferred to 78 falcon tube containing 30 ml of autoclaved sea water with 70 ppt salinity. Treatments consisted of a control (alga, Dunaliella tertiolecta) and 12 treatments of 3 bacteria (each with 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% replacement) and each treatment was done in 6 replicates. On the sixth day, survival rate, length and the number of bacterial colonies in the nauplius were studied. Also, in this day the nauplius was challenged with the pathogenic bacteria, V. campbellii. The maximum length of the nauplius was observed in the group supplied with 25% L. plantarum and 75% of alga (P<0.05). The results of bacterial colonies showed significant differences between groups (P<0.05). The highest and lowest number of colony were shown in groups supplied with 100% B. subtilis and 25 % L. casei, respectively. Based on challenge results, after 24 and 48 h of challenging with the pathogenic bacteria, the groups supplied with 100% L. plantarum showed the highest survival rate and the lowest survival was in group fed with 100% alga. In conclusion, the use of 25% L. plantarum combined with algae showed a better performance than the L. casei and B. subtilis.

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In a randomly and factorially designed experiment, the interaction effects of dietary zeolite (0 and 2%) and three salinity levels (80, 130 and 180 ppt) on growth, survival, reproductive performance and total longevity of A. franciscana were determined (6 treatments in total). The experiment was carried in two stages: nauplius to maturity and maturity to death of all females. The results indicated that the total body length of Artemia fed with zeolite were not significantly different among treatments in the third week of rearing (P>0.05), except for nauplii fed zeolite in salinity 180 ppt. However, Artemia fed with zeolite in 80 ppt had a higher body length and furcal length compared with other treatments. Nauplii in all treatments reached sexual maturity within 17-23 days (P>0.05). Survival rate was far higher in groups fed with zeolite compared to unfed groups; the highest values were recorded in group fed with zeolite at the salinity 130 ppt (P<0.05). The reproductive period and total longevity of females decreased with increasing salinity, but this trend was not affected by diet type. Average offspring production in the groups fed with zeolite was in the range of 861-1160 offspring compared to unfed groups (604-741 offspring) (P<0.05). The encysted embryos percentage was different in the range of 20-35%. According to the results, the inclusion of 2% zeolite in salinity within 80-130 ppt were better for growth of the Artemia to maturity. Also, it is recommended to add zeolite in the Artemia diet with the increasing trend in salinity from 80 to 180 ppt for improving broodstock reproductive performance.

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Selco enriching emulsion includes compounds from certain oils with marine and herbal origins. Selco oil produces micro-globules with less than 0.1 micron diameter. In order to generate such stability in original selco chemical emulsifiers have been used up to 3%. In this study, persian gum )Amygdalus scopariaspeech( and salep (Orchis mascula (were used as herbal emulsifiers in synthesis of Artemia enriching for a content of 11% to establish emulsification. The soluble part of persian gum and salep was separated with 30% and 22% content, respectively. Through chemical analysis, the chemical composition of the imported Selco oil was identified. Then the similar ingredients of the commercial brand were combined to produce our synthesized production. In physical computing, the average diameter and distribution of oil phase particles side was obtained as 0.1 micron and the relevant surface tension as 15±5 DIN/cm. Then the synthesyzed enriching oil (treatment 1) with the imported one (treatment 2) were tested for Artemia urmiana enriching with standard conditions. Enriching conducted in 3 repetitions with 0.4 gr/lit of the enriching oils/1 lit of water. Nauplii were introduced as 200000 nauplii/lit. The average of nauplii enriching percentage in treatments 1 and 2 was achieved as 27±2.47 and 23±2.52 percent, respectively. The bioassay results on 500 new feed larvae of trout fish has been shown that treatments 1 and 2 were significantly differed in survival. Therefore, the plant emulsifiers in this study, showed good performances as the chemical and physical properties, in stabilizing the oil emulsion in the aqueous phase.

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Chitin and chitosan are two very important biopolymer products that have so many usages in the high cost industries. Chitin Converts into chitosan via de-acetylation of chitin. It occurs by alkaline melting method in the absence of oxygen. Chemical structure change, severe environmental pollution and De-polymerization are of the major problems in producing high quality chitosan. In this study for conversion of chitin into chitosan fungus Aspergillus niger strains (ATHUM-10864), the generator of de-acetylases enzymes were used instead of chemicals. Chitosan quality was determined via elemental analysis infrared spectroscopy, X-ray tomography, molecular weight determination and estimation of crystallinity percent, color and molecular structure.The results showed 80±5% efficiency in the conversion of chitin into chitosan or de-acetylation degree of chitin. The gained chitosan contained of 44.4 % carbon, 8.9 % nitrogen, 2.7 % hydrogen and 39.5 % oxygen. The physical characteristics were as 94.5% Crystallinity and pale brown color. The chemical structure of per unit of chitosan was obtained as C6H12NO4. The results showed that replacing biological methods instead of chemicals was possible to access well quality products. It also eliminates the use of chemical materials such as concentrate sodium hydroxide that is damaging the environment.

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The huge attention toward dried food in ornamental fish culture is caused by the difficulty related to live-food preparation. This study investigated the effects replacement of live feed by commercial feed TetraMin on growth, survival rate and resistance to environmental stress in Oscar fish (Astronotus ocellatus) larvae. The experimental setup was completely randomized design comprised of five treatments including, namely T1 (Forty days Artemia nauplii), T2 (Thirty days Artemia ten days of commercial food), T3 (Twenty days Artemia twenty days of commercial food), T4 (Ten days Artemia thirty days of commercial food) and T5 (Forty days commercial feed). All treatments were performed in triplicate. In this study, fish larvae were fed 4 times a day and to apparent satiation, commercial feed and live feed. After a 40-day feeding experimental period, all the larvae each aquarium were sampled for and growth determination. Fish larvae in T1, T2, and T3 treatments showed the highest total length, weight and survival rate. Lowest total length, weight and survival rate were recorded in T5 treatment (p<0.05). Also, against challenge tests in T1, T2 and T3 treatments was significantly in comparison with T5 (p<0.05). The results of the present study demonstrate that the Oscar fish larvae could consume commercial feed starting from the 20 without any difference in growth with live food.

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Aims: Marine macroalgae are diverse organisms with adaptation for live in stressful environments. The aim of this study was to investigate the biological activities of organic extract; n-Hexane (nH), ethylacetate (E) and methanol (M) of three green alga from family Ulvaceae, Ulva clathrata, Ulva linza and Ulva intestinalis, collected from the coast of Bandar Abbas.
Materials & Methodes: In this experimental study, for identification the superior species, the tested activities included antioxidant assay at gradient concentrations by ferric reducing power assay, total antioxidant capacity, total phenolic content, and brine shrimp cytotoxicity activity of these extracts on model organism, Artemia salina. Data analysis was performed by one-way analysis of variance and Duncan's multiple tests at 5% probability level using SPSS 21 software and drawing charts using Excel 2013 software.
Finding: The more effective algal extracts by maximum antioxidant capacity, were recorded for M extracts of U.intestinalis, E and M extracts of U.linza and U.clathrata. The algal extract exhibited a higher antioxidant activity in comparing to ascorbic acid (as a standard) with significant differences between the extract in different concentrations (p≤0.05). The result showed the highest content of total phenol were recorded for the M extracts of U.linza and U.clathrata which confirmed the findings of other researchers that the increase in free radical scavenging activity of natural extracts is associated with the content of phenolic compounds. The highest brine shrimp cytotoxicity activity was recorded for the nH extracts of U. linza (LC₅₀= 300.78 mg/ml). According to the results, in general, U.linza can be introduced as a priority species for biological properties and in further studies.
Conclusion: Three green alga from family Ulvaceae, Ulva clathrata, Ulva linza and Ulva intestinalis, have antioxidant and cytotoxic activity. U.linza due to the high amount of phenol and high antioxidant power can be introduced as a priority species for biological properties.

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Due to widespread use of nanoparticles in various fields and the possibility of entering these nanoparticles into aquatic ecosystems, it is necessary to study the effects of these nanoparticles on surrounding environment. Artemia salina nauplii as a suitable biological model in ecotoxicology were exposed to different concentrations of 0.0001, 0.001, 0.005, 0.01 and 0.1 ppm mercury ions separately and simultaneously with a constant concentration of 0.1 ppm and 1 ppm titanium dioxide nanoparticles. The mortality rate of Artemia after 48 hours and the effects of these contaminants on fatty acid profile of Artemia were investigated. Artemia mortality in co-exposure treatment showed a dual effect. The mortality in the simultaneous exposure with constant concentration of 0.1ppm titanium dioxide increased compared with separate treatment of mercury. The mortality in simultaneous treatment with constant concentration of 1ppm titanium dioxide decreased compared with the separate treatment of mercury and the effect of mercury toxicity was reduced. Also, a decrease in saturated fatty acids was observed in the simultaneous exposure of mercury and titanium dioxide nanoparticles with a constant concentration of 1ppm compared with the separate treatment of mercury. The amount of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids in the simultaneous exposure with constant concentration of 1ppm titanium dioxide was equal to control and increased compared with separate treatment of mercury. Present findings indicate the necessity of paying more attention to the potential interactions of pollutants in aquatic ecosystems and the effects of these interactions on the bioavailability and toxicity of pollutants regarding their concentration.

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Bacteria are used directly by zooplankton as a food source. The purpose of this study is to use straw as a substrate for the proliferation of bacteria in geomembrane pools and its effects on the production and biochemical compositions of Artemia. One week before Artemia culture, the pools inoculated with Dunaliella sp. and straw (particles less than 200 microns) as follows: treatment 1= geomembrane pool containing Dunaliella sp. (one week of algae cultivation), treatment 2 = geomembrane pool containing Dunaliella sp. and 0.5 grams per liter of straw (one-week algae cultivation and adding straw from the second week), treatment 3 = geomembrane pool containing Dunaliella sp. and 0.5 g/l of straw (algae cultivation and adding straw from the first week) and treatment 4= geomembrane pool containing 0.5 g/l of straw (adding straw from the first week). Artemia was cultured for 18 days and fed based on a turbidity depth of 15 cm. The highest growth rate was observed at the end of day 18 in treatment 3 (P<0.05). The highest amount of protein was obtained in treatment 1 (P<0.05). The highest amount of biomass was observed in the control and T3 groups (P<0.05). The presence of straw in Artemia pools decreased EPA fatty acid by 5-7 times less than the control (P<0.05). Artemia can grow while feeding on environmental bacteria. Applying straw in Artemia cultivation can lead to an increase in PUFA fatty acids with 18 carbon chains.