Morphological and genetic features of crustaceans Artemia parthenogenetica and A. tibetiana (Crustacea, Anostraca) in different-type hypersaline lakes in the south of Western Siberia

Abstract

We studied modern morphological features of parthenogenetic and bisexual Artemia populations from 10 different-type hypersaline lakes in the south of Western Siberia (Altai Krai). DNA barcoding of these populations revealed two Artemia species: Artemia parthenogenetica Barigozzi, 1974 and A. tibetiana (Abatzopoulos et al., 1998). The studies were conducted monthly from July to September 2025. Principal component analysis indicated differences in the hydrochemical composition of brine (water) of lakes inhabited by parthenogenetic and bisexual Artemia populations. Comparative analysis of morphological features suggested that females of A. parthenogenetica and A. tibetiana significantly differed in mean values (14 of 16 traits). Cluster analysis of 12 plastic and 4 meristic characters of A. parthenogenetica females demonstrated splitting of its population into three groups with different structural features of the furca: length (fl), number (sf), and length of setae (sl). The Spearman correlation index establishes significant statistical correlations between the morphological features of A. parthenogenetica and A. tibetiana and main environmental factors, i.e. salinity and water temperature.