Existing comment:
Brine Shrimp:
Always In Motion:
If you stare into the lake during summer, you may see tiny creatures with black, beady eyes staring back at you. What you see is an ancient life form. These organisms evolved hundreds of millions of years ago and are the most primitive forms of crustaceans. Most of these brine shrimp live out their lives up grazers in the lake, midlevel in the food web. While their wiggly motion may not appeal to your appetite, birds thrive on brine shrimp. The swimming motion of the shrimp brings algae to their mouths, while their moving legs provide an effective surface for gas exchange and salt removal.
Life Cycle:
The brine shrimp you see today will not survive the coming winter. They often carry the eggs of their early summer broods in their brood pouches until they batch. Before they die, they begin producing overwintering eggs. These cysts sink and rest on the lake bottom where they enter a state of suspended animation. When the water begins to warm in the spring, development begins anew and the cysts hatch. The newly hatched shrimp will feed, grow and reproduce. The millions of birds that visit Mono Lake feast on these shrimp. |