Soil Ecology Wiki - User contributions [en]

Western Toad

2023-04-27T02:18:28Z

Gjmullen:

[[File:Western toad .jpeg|right|thumb|'''Western toad''''' (Anaxyrus boreas)'']]

== Taxonomy ==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width:80%;"
|+ Western Toad Taxonomy
|-
|
! scope="row" | Kingdom
! scope="row" | Phylum
! scope="row" | Class
! scope="row" | Order
! scope="row" | Family
! scope="row" | Genus
|-
! scope="col" | Classification
| Animalia
| Chordata
| Amphibia
| Anura
| Bufonidae
| Anaxyrus
|}

== Description ==
The Western Toad is a species of amphibians ranging in 2 to 5 inches in length with dusky gray or greenish dorsals, and skin glands concentrated inside the dark blotches. Western Toads also have a very distinguishable white or cream dorsal stripe. It has round, widely divided parotid glands that are larger than the upper eyelids and it lacks cranial crests but has a speckled ventro and horizontal pupils. Male western toads are unique for the fact that they develop smoother skin during breeding seasons. They also have less dorsal blotching, and nuptial pads (thickened skin) on their forefeet in comparison to females. Males are also smaller than female Western Toads. The dorsal stripe of this species' juveniles is missing or very faint. Yellow foot and vivid dorsal and ventral markings are features of large young.

Western Toad tadpoles are dark in appearance with light spotting on the body creating a gold shimmer when viewed in bright lights. Their underside is slightly paler than their overall body. The juveniles' eyes are dorsally situated on the top of their head ending in a tail which is dark in color with fins darker than the rest of of the tail itself.

== Range and Subspecies ==
Western toads are known to inhabit a fairly wide territorial range, spanning across western British Columbia, northern Baja California, southern Alaska, Oregon, Idaho and Washington, central and western Wyoming, western Colorado, and the higher plateaus and mountains of Utah. This species occurs in a variety of terrestrial habitats including prairies, forests, canyon grasslands and ponderosa pine-Oregon oak habitat. They appear absent from most of the shrubsteppe and steppe zones with the exception of the canyon grasslands in southeast Washington. Breeding waters are usually permanent and include wetlands, ponds, lakes, reservoir coves and the still-water off-channel habitats of rivers, as well as river edges.
[[File:Fig02.jpg]]
;There are two subspecies of the Western toad, namely Anaxyrus boreas boreas and Anaxyrus boreas halophilus:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Image !! Scientific name!! Common Name !! Description !!Distribution
|-
|[[File:Toad 1.jpg|120px]]||''Anaxyrus boreas boreas''||[[Boreal toad]] || is characterized by an underbelly zone spotted with a decent amount of dark blotches, while the cranial crest is absent. ||Boreal toads inhabit southern Alaska and western British Columbia, western Montana, Nevada, northern California, Oregon, Idaho, Washington, western Utah, and western Wyoming
|-
|[[File:Toad 2.jpeg|120px]]||''Anaxyrus boreas halophilus''||[[California toad]] || differs from the Western toads by possessing larger eyes, a wider head, and considerably smaller feet. California toads are also known to have weaker developed dorsal stripe zone margins. || Found across the Central Valley of California through Coastal and Baja California, as well as in western Nevada
|-
|}

== Life Cycle and Behavior ==
The Western Toad's lifecycle begins as eggs which are laid in long strings on bare sediments or intertwined in vegetation in shallow water near shore. Individual females produce approximately 12,000 eggs per clutch on average and tend to lay them around vegetation in still water. The egg strings are similar to Woodhouse’s toads but the latter has only one gel layer. breeding starts in mid-April at low elevation sites in western Washington and in late April or early May at low elevation sites in eastern Washington. Toads at higher elevations tend to breed later.
Toads breed in the still waters of lakes and ponds, but they also breed within slower moving sections of rivers. Onset of egg laying at each location varies from one to three weeks each year depending on site conditions such as snow melt.

Tadpole development to metamorphosis takes approximately two months depending on temperature and food availability. The newly metamorphosed toads disperse from the breeding sites in groups for 1 to 2 weeks. Informal observations indicate that many populations return to the same breeding location each year. Transformed toads are primarily terrestrial, but often occur near water bodies, especially in drier climates. [[File:8700 (1).jpeg|right|thumb]]

== Diet and Predators ==
Western toads eat a variety of [[invertebrates]], mostly [[insects]], but also worms. Tadpoles eat algae and detritus (organic material) in the aquatic environment. They are known to wait for their prey, either in shallow burrows created by other [[animals]] or straight on the surface of the ground. Instead of actively hunting for their prey, Western toads’ are foragers.
The way prey items are ingested by Anaxyrus boreas is thanks to a quick tongue extension, known as a zot. The zot allows Western toads to snap up their prey.

Common predators include fish, birds, and snakes. To defend themselves, the Western Toad can secret a foul-tasting toxin from their parotoid glands, however, some ravens have learned to avoid the areas that contain this toxin.

== References ==

“Western Toad.” NDOW, www.ndow.org/species/western-toad/. Accessed 27 Apr. 2023.

“Western Toad | Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife.” Wdfw.wa.gov, wdfw.wa.gov/species-habitats/species/anaxyrus-boreas#desc-range.

“Western Toad Care Sheet | Reptiles’ Cove.” Reptilescove.com, 4 May 2020, reptilescove.com/care/frogs/western-toad. Accessed 27 Apr. 2023.

Western Toad

2023-04-27T02:15:43Z

Gjmullen:

[[File:Western toad .jpeg|right|thumb]]

'''Western toad''''' (Anaxyrus boreas)''

== Taxonomy ==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width:80%;"
|+ Western Toad Taxonomy
|-
|
! scope="row" | Kingdom
! scope="row" | Phylum
! scope="row" | Class
! scope="row" | Order
! scope="row" | Family
! scope="row" | Genus
|-
! scope="col" | Classification
| Animalia
| Chordata
| Amphibia
| Anura
| Bufonidae
| Anaxyrus
|}

== Description ==
The Western Toad is a species of amphibians ranging in 2 to 5 inches in length with dusky gray or greenish dorsals, and skin glands concentrated inside the dark blotches. Western Toads also have a very distinguishable white or cream dorsal stripe. It has round, widely divided parotid glands that are larger than the upper eyelids and it lacks cranial crests but has a speckled ventro and horizontal pupils. Male western toads are unique for the fact that they develop smoother skin during breeding seasons. They also have less dorsal blotching, and nuptial pads (thickened skin) on their forefeet in comparison to females. Males are also smaller than female Western Toads. The dorsal stripe of this species' juveniles is missing or very faint. Yellow foot and vivid dorsal and ventral markings are features of large young.

Western Toad tadpoles are dark in appearance with light spotting on the body creating a gold shimmer when viewed in bright lights. Their underside is slightly paler than their overall body. The juveniles' eyes are dorsally situated on the top of their head ending in a tail which is dark in color with fins darker than the rest of of the tail itself.

== Range and Subspecies ==
Western toads are known to inhabit a fairly wide territorial range, spanning across western British Columbia, northern Baja California, southern Alaska, Oregon, Idaho and Washington, central and western Wyoming, western Colorado, and the higher plateaus and mountains of Utah. This species occurs in a variety of terrestrial habitats including prairies, forests, canyon grasslands and ponderosa pine-Oregon oak habitat. They appear absent from most of the shrubsteppe and steppe zones with the exception of the canyon grasslands in southeast Washington. Breeding waters are usually permanent and include wetlands, ponds, lakes, reservoir coves and the still-water off-channel habitats of rivers, as well as river edges.
[[File:Fig02.jpg]]
;There are two subspecies of the Western toad, namely Anaxyrus boreas boreas and Anaxyrus boreas halophilus:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Image !! Scientific name!! Common Name !! Description !!Distribution
|-
|[[File:Toad 1.jpg|120px]]||''Anaxyrus boreas boreas''||[[Boreal toad]] || is characterized by an underbelly zone spotted with a decent amount of dark blotches, while the cranial crest is absent. ||Boreal toads inhabit southern Alaska and western British Columbia, western Montana, Nevada, northern California, Oregon, Idaho, Washington, western Utah, and western Wyoming
|-
|[[File:Toad 2.jpeg|120px]]||''Anaxyrus boreas halophilus''||[[California toad]] || differs from the Western toads by possessing larger eyes, a wider head, and considerably smaller feet. California toads are also known to have weaker developed dorsal stripe zone margins. || Found across the Central Valley of California through Coastal and Baja California, as well as in western Nevada
|-
|}

== Life Cycle and Behavior ==
The Western Toad's lifecycle begins as eggs which are laid in long strings on bare sediments or intertwined in vegetation in shallow water near shore. Individual females produce approximately 12,000 eggs per clutch on average and tend to lay them around vegetation in still water. The egg strings are similar to Woodhouse’s toads but the latter has only one gel layer. breeding starts in mid-April at low elevation sites in western Washington and in late April or early May at low elevation sites in eastern Washington. Toads at higher elevations tend to breed later.
Toads breed in the still waters of lakes and ponds, but they also breed within slower moving sections of rivers. Onset of egg laying at each location varies from one to three weeks each year depending on site conditions such as snow melt.

Tadpole development to metamorphosis takes approximately two months depending on temperature and food availability. The newly metamorphosed toads disperse from the breeding sites in groups for 1 to 2 weeks. Informal observations indicate that many populations return to the same breeding location each year. Transformed toads are primarily terrestrial, but often occur near water bodies, especially in drier climates. [[File:8700 (1).jpeg|right|thumb]]

== Diet and Predators ==
Western toads eat a variety of [[invertebrates]], mostly [[insects]], but also worms. Tadpoles eat algae and detritus (organic material) in the aquatic environment. They are known to wait for their prey, either in shallow burrows created by other [[animals]] or straight on the surface of the ground. Instead of actively hunting for their prey, Western toads’ are foragers.
The way prey items are ingested by Anaxyrus boreas is thanks to a quick tongue extension, known as a zot. The zot allows Western toads to snap up their prey.

Common predators include fish, birds, and snakes. To defend themselves, the Western Toad can secret a foul-tasting toxin from their parotoid glands, however, some ravens have learned to avoid the areas that contain this toxin.

== References ==

“Western Toad.” NDOW, www.ndow.org/species/western-toad/. Accessed 27 Apr. 2023.

“Western Toad | Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife.” Wdfw.wa.gov, wdfw.wa.gov/species-habitats/species/anaxyrus-boreas#desc-range.

“Western Toad Care Sheet | Reptiles’ Cove.” Reptilescove.com, 4 May 2020, reptilescove.com/care/frogs/western-toad. Accessed 27 Apr. 2023.

File:8700 (1).jpeg

2023-04-27T02:14:42Z

Gjmullen:

Western Toad

2023-04-27T02:11:37Z

Gjmullen:

[[File:Western toad .jpeg|right|thumb]]

'''Western toad''''' (Anaxyrus boreas)''

== Taxonomy ==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width:80%;"
|+ Western Toad Taxonomy
|-
|
! scope="row" | Kingdom
! scope="row" | Phylum
! scope="row" | Class
! scope="row" | Order
! scope="row" | Family
! scope="row" | Genus
|-
! scope="col" | Classification
| Animalia
| Chordata
| Amphibia
| Anura
| Bufonidae
| Anaxyrus
|}

== Description ==
The Western Toad is a species of amphibians ranging in 2 to 5 inches in length with dusky gray or greenish dorsals, and skin glands concentrated inside the dark blotches. Western Toads also have a very distinguishable white or cream dorsal stripe. It has round, widely divided parotid glands that are larger than the upper eyelids and it lacks cranial crests but has a speckled ventro and horizontal pupils. Male western toads are unique for the fact that they develop smoother skin during breeding seasons. They also have less dorsal blotching, and nuptial pads (thickened skin) on their forefeet in comparison to females. Males are also smaller than female Western Toads. The dorsal stripe of this species' juveniles is missing or very faint. Yellow foot and vivid dorsal and ventral markings are features of large young.

Western Toad tadpoles are dark in appearance with light spotting on the body creating a gold shimmer when viewed in bright lights. Their underside is slightly paler than their overall body. The juveniles' eyes are dorsally situated on the top of their head ending in a tail which is dark in color with fins darker than the rest of of the tail itself.

== Range and Subspecies ==
Western toads are known to inhabit a fairly wide territorial range, spanning across western British Columbia, northern Baja California, southern Alaska, Oregon, Idaho and Washington, central and western Wyoming, western Colorado, and the higher plateaus and mountains of Utah. This species occurs in a variety of terrestrial habitats including prairies, forests, canyon grasslands and ponderosa pine-Oregon oak habitat. They appear absent from most of the shrubsteppe and steppe zones with the exception of the canyon grasslands in southeast Washington. Breeding waters are usually permanent and include wetlands, ponds, lakes, reservoir coves and the still-water off-channel habitats of rivers, as well as river edges.
[[File:Fig02.jpg]]
;There are two subspecies of the Western toad, namely Anaxyrus boreas boreas and Anaxyrus boreas halophilus:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Image !! Scientific name!! Common Name !! Description !!Distribution
|-
|[[File:Toad 1.jpg|120px]]||''Anaxyrus boreas boreas''||[[Boreal toad]] || is characterized by an underbelly zone spotted with a decent amount of dark blotches, while the cranial crest is absent. ||Boreal toads inhabit southern Alaska and western British Columbia, western Montana, Nevada, northern California, Oregon, Idaho, Washington, western Utah, and western Wyoming
|-
|[[File:Toad 2.jpeg|120px]]||''Anaxyrus boreas halophilus''||[[California toad]] || differs from the Western toads by possessing larger eyes, a wider head, and considerably smaller feet. California toads are also known to have weaker developed dorsal stripe zone margins. || Found across the Central Valley of California through Coastal and Baja California, as well as in western Nevada
|-
|}

== Life Cycle and Behavior ==
The Western Toad's lifecycle begins as eggs which are laid in long strings on bare sediments or intertwined in vegetation in shallow water near shore. Individual females produce approximately 12,000 eggs per clutch on average and tend to lay them around vegetation in still water. The egg strings are similar to Woodhouse’s toads but the latter has only one gel layer. breeding starts in mid-April at low elevation sites in western Washington and in late April or early May at low elevation sites in eastern Washington. Toads at higher elevations tend to breed later.
Toads breed in the still waters of lakes and ponds, but they also breed within slower moving sections of rivers. Onset of egg laying at each location varies from one to three weeks each year depending on site conditions such as snow melt.

Tadpole development to metamorphosis takes approximately two months depending on temperature and food availability. The newly metamorphosed toads disperse from the breeding sites in groups for 1 to 2 weeks. Informal observations indicate that many populations return to the same breeding location each year. Transformed toads are primarily terrestrial, but often occur near water bodies, especially in drier climates.

== Diet and Predators ==
Western toads eat a variety of [[invertebrates]], mostly [[insects]], but also worms. Tadpoles eat algae and detritus (organic material) in the aquatic environment. They are known to wait for their prey, either in shallow burrows created by other [[animals]] or straight on the surface of the ground. Instead of actively hunting for their prey, Western toads’ are foragers.
The way prey items are ingested by Anaxyrus boreas is thanks to a quick tongue extension, known as a zot. The zot allows Western toads to snap up their prey.

Common predators include fish, birds, and snakes. To defend themselves, the Western Toad can secret a foul-tasting toxin from their parotoid glands, however, some ravens have learned to avoid the areas that contain this toxin.

== References ==

“Western Toad.” NDOW, www.ndow.org/species/western-toad/. Accessed 27 Apr. 2023.
‌

“Western Toad | Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife.” Wdfw.wa.gov, wdfw.wa.gov/species-habitats/species/anaxyrus-boreas#desc-range.

“Western Toad Care Sheet | Reptiles’ Cove.” Reptilescove.com, 4 May 2020, reptilescove.com/care/frogs/western-toad. Accessed 27 Apr. 2023.

Western Toad

2023-04-27T02:02:52Z

Gjmullen: Created page with "File:Western toad .jpeg '''Western toad''''' (Anaxyrus boreas)'' == Taxonomy == {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width:80%;" |+ Western Toad Taxonomy |-..."

[[File:Western toad .jpeg]]

'''Western toad''''' (Anaxyrus boreas)''

== Taxonomy ==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width:80%;"
|+ Western Toad Taxonomy
|-
|
! scope="row" | Kingdom
! scope="row" | Phylum
! scope="row" | Class
! scope="row" | Order
! scope="row" | Family
! scope="row" | Genus
|-
! scope="col" | Classification
| Animalia
| Chordata
| Amphibia
| Anura
| Bufonidae
| Anaxyrus
|}

== Description ==
The Western Toad is a species of amphibians ranging in 2 to 5 inches in length with dusky gray or greenish dorsals, and skin glands concentrated inside the dark blotches. Western Toads also have a very distinguishable white or cream dorsal stripe. It has round, widely divided parotid glands that are larger than the upper eyelids and it lacks cranial crests but has a speckled ventro and horizontal pupils. Male western toads are unique for the fact that they develop smoother skin during breeding seasons. They also have less dorsal blotching, and nuptial pads (thickened skin) on their forefeet in comparison to females. Males are also smaller than female Western Toads. The dorsal stripe of this species' juveniles is missing or very faint. Yellow foot and vivid dorsal and ventral markings are features of large young.

Western Toad tadpoles are dark in appearance with light spotting on the body creating a gold shimmer when viewed in bright lights. Their underside is slightly paler than their overall body. The juveniles' eyes are dorsally situated on the top of their head ending in a tail which is dark in color with fins darker than the rest of of the tail itself.

== Range and Subspecies ==
Western toads are known to inhabit a fairly wide territorial range, spanning across western British Columbia, northern Baja California, southern Alaska, Oregon, Idaho and Washington, central and western Wyoming, western Colorado, and the higher plateaus and mountains of Utah. This species occurs in a variety of terrestrial habitats including prairies, forests, canyon grasslands and ponderosa pine-Oregon oak habitat. They appear absent from most of the shrubsteppe and steppe zones with the exception of the canyon grasslands in southeast Washington. Breeding waters are usually permanent and include wetlands, ponds, lakes, reservoir coves and the still-water off-channel habitats of rivers, as well as river edges.
[[File:Fig02.jpg]]
;There are two subspecies of the Western toad, namely Anaxyrus boreas boreas and Anaxyrus boreas halophilus:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Image !! Scientific name!! Common Name !! Description !!Distribution
|-
|[[File:Toad 1.jpg|120px]]||''Anaxyrus boreas boreas''||[[Boreal toad]] || is characterized by an underbelly zone spotted with a decent amount of dark blotches, while the cranial crest is absent. ||Boreal toads inhabit southern Alaska and western British Columbia, western Montana, Nevada, northern California, Oregon, Idaho, Washington, western Utah, and western Wyoming
|-
|[[File:Toad 2.jpeg|120px]]||''Anaxyrus boreas halophilus''||[[California toad]] || differs from the Western toads by possessing larger eyes, a wider head, and considerably smaller feet. California toads are also known to have weaker developed dorsal stripe zone margins. || Found across the Central Valley of California through Coastal and Baja California, as well as in western Nevada
|-
|}

== Life Cycle and Behavior ==

The Western Toad's lifecycle begins as eggs which are laid in long strings on bare sediments or intertwined in vegetation in shallow water near shore. Individual females produce approximately 12,000 eggs per clutch on average and tend to lay them around vegetation in still water.
Depending on temperature and location, mating can being as early as March and ends in July. The males will find a shallow spot in wetlands or ponds and call to attract females. Males generally only call at night but will call during wet days during the peak of mating season.
[https://www.umesc.usgs.gov/terrestrial/amphibians/armi/frog_calls/american_toad.wav] Once the mating takes place the female will lay from 2,000-20,000 eggs in a long strand. The eggs will hatch after 3-12 days, typically from around June to August. Once the eggs hatch, they develop into tadpoles and become fully grown in 60 days. An American Toad will reach sexual maturity after 2-4 years. Once the toads reach adulthood they feed during the early morning into the night, as they are mainly nocturnal. American toads often hide in leaf litter to avoid predators. The toads will burrow in moist soils and hibernate in these burrows during the winter.

== Diet and Predators ==
When American toads start off as tadpoles, they are herbivorous and primarily feed on decaying plants. When they become adults, they become carnivorous and eat small creatures such as insects, spiders, worms, and snails. The predators of the American toad include birds, snakes, and small mammals such as raccoons and skunks. There are certain snakes, such as the eastern hognose snake, which is specialized in eating toads due to its immunity to the American toad's bufotoxin. Toads often pee on themselves to make themselves a less appealing meal when they are facing a predator that is unaffected by their toxins. Another defensive behavior is that toads will enlarge their bodies by puffing up to seem too large for a snake to consume.

== References ==

Altig, Ronald, et al. Handbook of Larval Amphibians of the United States and Canada. 1st ed., Cornell University Press, 2015. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.7591/j.ctt1tm7g59. Accessed 12 Apr. 2021.

(“Eastern American Toad Fact Sheet - Signs of the Seasons: A New England Phenology Program - University of Maine Cooperative Extension”)
“IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.” IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/54570/56843565. Accessed 12 Apr. 2021.

Pauly, Gregory B., et al. “THE HISTORY OF A NEARCTIC COLONIZATION: MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND BIOGEOGRAPHY OF THE NEARCTIC TOADS (BUFO).” Evolution, no. 11, The Society for the Study of Evolution, 2004, p. 2517. Crossref, doi:10.1554/04-208.

Vaughan, Andres, and Joseph R. Mendelson. “Taxonomy and Ecology of the Central American Toads of the Genus Crepidophryne (Anura: Bufonidae).” Copeia, no. 2, American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (ASIH), May 2007, pp. 304–14. Crossref, doi:10.1643/0045-8511(2007)7[304:taeotc]2.0.co;2.

“IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.” IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/54570/56843565. Accessed 12 Apr. 2021.

File:Fig02.jpg

2023-04-27T02:01:31Z

Gjmullen:

File:Toad 2.jpeg

2023-04-27T01:58:38Z

Gjmullen:

File:Toad 1.jpg

2023-04-27T01:58:00Z

Gjmullen:

File:Western toad .jpeg

2023-04-26T19:11:09Z

Gjmullen:

Gravel

2023-03-31T04:40:55Z

Gjmullen:

[[File:Gravel on a beach in Thirasia, Santorini, Greece.jpg|right|thumb]]
==Overview==
Gravel is a loose aggregation of rock fragments which is formed as a result of sedimentary and erosive geologic processes. It is commonly produced in large quantities for commercial purposes.

Gravel can be classified by its grain size range with the Udden-Wentworth scale which categorizes particles by size. Using this scale,gravel can be categorized into two classes; granular gravel (2–4 mm or 0.079–0.157 in) and pebble gravel (4–64 mm or 0.2–2.5 in). Gravel can be described as fine, medium and course due to these broad ranges of size.

==Formation==
[[File:USDA Soil Texture.png|right|thumb]]
A geological definition of gravel is “a natural material that consists of water-transported materials and usually has a rounded shape as a result of the water transport.”

It is usually formed with [[bedrock]] and quartz but can also contain any other metamorphic, igneous or sedimentary rock.

==Types==
[[File:2522206 e7b5cb57.jpg|right|thumb|Gravel banks in the bed of the River Annan]]
;Bank Gravel: naturally deposited gravel which has been mixed with slit, [[clay]] and [[sand]] from nearby rivers or streams.
;Bench Gravel: a bed of gravel located on the surface level of a valley next to a stream representing where the stream use to flow in the past.
;Fine Gravel: Gravel with a grain size between 2-6.3mm.
;Lag Gravel: When aeolian processes or fluvial processes remove the finer portion of a sedimentary deposit leaving a layer of the coarser gravel behind.
;Pay Gravel: Gravel that has a high amount of gold or other precious material in it which can be recovered through screening or panning.
;Piedmont Gravel: Course gravel which has been transported from a stream/river on a mountain ending up in a relatively flat surface-plain
;Plateau Gravel: Gravel located on a Plateau which is above the height where stream-created gravel is usually found
;Crushed Stone: A human-derived form of gravel; stones are crushed with machinery and sent into multiple layers of screens to separate each grain by size to be later sold for commercial use.

==Commercial Use==
Natural gravel deposits are insufficient for human purposes, gravel is often produced by quarrying and crushing hard-wearing rocks, such as sandstone, limestone, or basalt. Quarries where gravel is extracted are known as gravel pits. Southern England possesses particularly large concentrations of them due to the widespread deposition of gravel in the region during the Ice Ages.

It begins with using a rock crusher in a place that has plenty of large rocks, such as a quarry. There are many types of crushers, but their main job is the same: Crush larger rocks into smaller pieces to be used for construction material.
Crushed stone is then passed through different screeners to be organized and stored in different piles according to their size. The screening process starts by removing larger stones, then medium stones, and eventually goes all the way down to the stone dust.

After being sorted into different piles depending on the size of the stone, the stone is ready to be shipped from the quarry. Quarries deliver directly to job sites, to concrete plants, or to wholesale distributors who sell the stone through retail to customers.

==Common Commercial Rocks used in Gravel==
;Basalt: An igneous rock often used for road pavement or concrete aggregates. It's also used for masonry projects
;Granite: An igneous rock that is durable and easily polished. Because of its color, grain, and ability to be polished, it's often used inside homes for countertops or on the outside of monumental or civic buildings. However, it can also be used on bridge piers and river walls.
;Limestone: A sedimentary rock that is the most commonly used to make crushed stone in the United States. One of the most versatile rocks for construction, limestone is able to be crushed easily, making it a primary rock used in ready-mix concrete, road construction, and railroads. It is widely available in quarries across the country.
;Sandstone: A sedimentary rock used primarily for concrete and masonry work. It is unsuitable for use as a building stone because of its sediment composition.
[[File:Gravel-driveways-2-2.jpeg|right|thumb|Gravel driveway being created]]
;Slate: A metamorphic rock typically found in layers. Because it is easily mined and cut in these natural layers, it works well in applications requiring thin rock layers. Common examples are roofing tiles, certain types of chalkboards, gravestones, and some pavement applications.
;Laterite: A metamorphic rock with a highly porous and sponge structure. It is easily quarried in block form and used as a building stone. However, it is important to plaster the surface to eliminate the pores.
;Marble: A metamorphic rock. Like granite, it can be polished well and is often used for decorative purposes. Common uses are columns, flooring, or steps in monumental buildings.
;Gneiss: A metamorphic rock. Due to the harmful components of the rock, it is rarely used in construction, although hard varieties are sometimes used in building construction.
;Quartzite: A metamorphic rock that is used in building blocks and slabs. It is also used as an aggregate in ready-mix concrete.

==References==
1. Jackson, Julia A., ed. (1997). "gravel". Glossary of geology (Fourth ed.). Alexandria, Virginia: American Geological Institute. ISBN 0922152349.

2. Redi-Mix, Gra-Rock. “The Complete Guide to Crushed Stone and Gravel.” Gra-Rock, 11 Nov. 2019, www.gra-rock.com/post/2019/11/11/the-complete-beginners-guide-to-crushed-stone-and-gravel.

3. “Gravel - Geological Formation.” Www.liquisearch.com, www.liquisearch.com/gravel/geological_formation. Accessed 31 Mar. 2023.

‌4. “Gravel.” Wikipedia, 27 Feb. 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravel#CITEREFJackson1997. Accessed 31 Mar. 2023.

‌

‌

Gravel

2023-03-31T04:38:33Z

Gjmullen: Created page with "thumb ==Overview== Gravel is a loose aggregation of rock fragments which is formed as a result of sedimen..."

File:Gravel-driveways-2-2.jpeg

2023-03-31T04:34:31Z

Gjmullen:

File:2522206 e7b5cb57.jpg

2023-03-31T04:19:47Z

Gjmullen:

File:Gravel on a beach in Thirasia, Santorini, Greece.jpg

2023-03-31T02:56:01Z

Gjmullen:

Anostraca

2023-03-10T19:27:18Z

Gjmullen:

[[File:Bsandiegonensis+-+Andres+Aguilar.jpg|thumb| The California Fairy Shrimp, one of the main drivers in the nature protection plan for vernal ponds in California.]] '''Anostraca''' is one of the four orders of crustaceans that compose the class ''Branchiopoda'', the members of this order are more commonly referred to as "fairy shrimp" or "brine shrimp". They swim upside-down and are typically found in [[vernal ponds]] and hypersaline lakes (landlocked lakes that contain high levels of sodium chloride and other salts, these saline levels are higher than the saline levels of ocean water) as well as deserts and colder regions such as ice covered mountains. They are an important food source for many birds and fish, and some are cultured and harvested for fish food in many regions. There are 300 species spread across 8 families.

==Taxonomy==

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width:80%;"
|+ Fairy Shrimp Taxonomy
|-
|
! scope="row" | Kingdom
! scope="row" | Phylum
! scope="row" | Subphylum
! scope="row" | Class
! scope="row" | Subclass
! scope="row" | Order
|-
! scope="col" | Classification
| Animalia
| Arthropoda
| Crustacea
| Branchiopoda
| Sarsostraca
| Anostraca
|}

==Description==

A fairy shrimp's body is typically elongated and divided into three distinct parts: head, abdomen, and thorax. The whole animal can measure anywhere from .25 - 1 inch long (6-25 millimeters), however some species may not reach sexual maturity until they are 2 inches (50mm) long with the ability to grow up to almost 7 inches (170 mm)[1]. Fairy shrimp possess a thin but flexible exoskeleton that unlike other [[arthropods]] does not have a carapace (an upper section of exoskeleton found in many groups of [[animals]]) [1].

[[File:Brine.jpeg|thumb|A model showing the separate sections of a fairy shrimp.]]

===Head===
The head of fairy shrimp are distinct from the thorax in that the head possesses two compound eyes and then two separate pairs of antennae. The shape of the second pair of antennae differ between males and females of the species; the males second pair of antennae are enlarged and specialized (instead of long and cylindrical) in order to be able to better hold females during mating [7].

===Thorax and Abdomen===
Most members of this order have a thorax with 13 segments with the exception of ''Polyartemiella'' and ''Polyartemia'' which possess 19 and 21 segments respectively. All segments but the last two are similar in that they have a pair of flattened leaf-like appendages [1]. The last two segments of the body are fused together and the appendages are then specialized for sexual reproduction. Most fairy shrimp reproduce sexually, however a few reproduce by parthenogenesis. The abdomen is comprised of 6 segments without appendages, and a telson, which bears two flattened cercopods.

==Ecology==

Fairy shrimp inhabit inland waters including: vernal ponds, salt lakes, and lakes at high altitudes or latitudes. Due to their relatively large size and slow means of locomotion, Anostracans are easy prey for predatory fish and waterfowl [2]. This susceptibility to predation is the reason why they are restricted to areas with a lower quantity of predators.

[[File:Brine shrimp .jpeg|thumb| A Fairy Shrimp displaying its "upside-down" swimming method.]]

Anostracans swim gracefully by moving their phyllopodia which are connected to their body segments. When swimming, fairy shrimp will have their ventral side facing upward, which is why it is said that they are "swimming upside-down" [3]. While swimming they filter food indiscriminately from the water, and also scrape algae and other organic materials from solid surfaces. To do this, they turn to have their ventral side against the food surface [5].

Fairy shrimp have the ability to enter diapause, which is a state of biological dormancy where growth and metabolism are arrested, as an egg (or cyst) [4]. This is an especially important biological trait because it assists in both species' dispersal and overcoming adverse environmental conditions. Once a Fairy shrimp becomes dormant, these cysts can withstand conditions as harsh and diverse as droughts, frosts, hypersalinity, complete desiccation, exposure to UV radiation and even the vacuum of space. Diapause is also the best way for the fairy shrimp to colonize new habitats—facilitated by a variety of conditions including wind, predators, and currents as the adults are unable to leave the freshwater system [4].

==Feeding==
Different anostraca species eat different substances which varies from algae, plankton and organic particles from the water. Most anostracans feed on algae by scraping hard algae covered surfaces with their legs which then makes the algae more accessible to feed on. They also use their legs to filter feed organic particles from the water.

==Environmental Impact==
[[File:Shrimpfood.jpg|200px|thumb|Fairy shrimp are often sold as a food product for marine life and aquaculture.]]

Members of this order, most notably brine shrimp, are used as food for fish and other [[organisms]] in aquaria and aquaculture. In natural environments they are also eaten by birds, water boatmen, fishes and other crustaceans. Their drought-resistant eggs are collected from lakeshores and then stored and transported dry, after transportation they hatch readily when submerged in salt water. This is a multimillion-dollar industry centered in the Great Salt Lake in Utah and San Francisco Bay in California; adults are collected from Mono Lake and transported frozen [6].

==[[Diversity]]==
Of the four orders of Branchiopoda, Anostraca has the widest diversity range. There are approximately 313 species in it, arranged into 26 genera and eight families:
* Artemiidae – 1 genus, 8 species
* Branchinectidae – 1 genus, 45 species
* Branchipodidae – 5 genera, 35 species
* Chirocephalidae – 9 genera, 81 species
* Parartemiidae – 1 genus, 18 species
* Streptocephalidae – 1 genus, 56 species
* Tanymastigidae – 2 genera, 8 species
* Thamnocephalidae – 6 genera, 62 species

==References==
[1] Peter H. H. Weekers; Gopal Murugan; Jacques R. Vanfleteren; Denton Belk; Henri J. Dumont (2002). "Phylogenetic analysis of anostracans (Branchiopoda: Anostraca) inferred from nuclear 18S ribosomal DNA (18S rDNA) sequences" Pg. 535–544. doi:10.1016/S1055-7903(02)00289-0. PMID 12450757.

[2] Vernal Pool Fairy Shrimp. National Wildlife Federation. (n.d.). Retrieved May 10, 2022, from https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Invertebrates/Vernal-Pool-Fairy-Shrimp

[3] “Fairy Shrimp.” 2022. Fairy Shrimp | Merced [[Vernal Pools]] & Grassland Reserve. Accessed May 10. https://vernalpools.ucmerced.edu/ecosystem/reserve-fairy-shrimp.

[4] Fryer, Geoffrey (1996-03-01). "Diapause, a potent force in the evolution of freshwater crustaceans". Hydrobiologia. 320 (1–3): 1–14. doi:10.1007/bf00016800

[5] Denton Belk (2007). "Branchiopoda". In Sol Felty Light; James T. Carlton (eds.). The Light and Smith Manual: Intertidal [[Invertebrates]] from Central California to Oregon (4th ed.). University of California Press. pp. 414–417. ISBN 978-0-520-23939-5.

[6] J. M. Melack (2009). "Saline and soda lakes". In Sven Erik Jørgensen (ed.). Ecosystem [[Ecology]]. Academic Press. pp. 380–384. ISBN 978-0-444-53466-8.

[7] William David Williams (1980). "Arachnids and Crustaceans". Australian Freshwater Life: the Invertebrates of Australian Inland Waters (2nd ed.). Palgrave Macmillan Australia. pp. 118–184. ISBN 978-0-333-29894-7

[8] The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Brine Shrimp | Crustacean.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 2019, www.britannica.com/animal/brine-shrimp.

[9] Luc Brendonck; D. Christopher Rogers; Jorgen Olesen; Stephen Weeks; Walter R. Hoch (2008). "Global diversity of large branchiopods (Crustacea: Branchiopoda) in freshwater". In Estelle V. Balian; Christian Lévêque; Hendrik Segers; Koen Martens (eds.). Freshwater Animal Diversity Assessment. Developments in Hydrobiology 198. pp. 167–176. doi:10.1007/s10750-007-9119-9. ISBN 978-1-4020-8258-0. S2CID 46608816. Reprinted from Hydrobiologia, Volume 595

‌

Anostraca

2023-03-10T19:23:12Z

Gjmullen:

Anostraca

2023-03-10T19:22:33Z

Gjmullen:

[[File:Bsandiegonensis+-+Andres+Aguilar.jpg|thumb| The California Fairy Shrimp, one of the main drivers in the nature protection plan for vernal ponds in California.]] '''Anostraca''' is one of the four orders of crustaceans that compose the class ''Branchiopoda'', the members of this order are more commonly referred to as "fairy shrimp" or "brine shrimp". They swim upside-down and are typically found in [[vernal ponds]] and hypersaline lakes (landlocked lakes that contain high levels of sodium chloride and other salts, these saline levels are higher than the saline levels of ocean water) as well as deserts and colder regions such as ice covered mountains. They are an important food source for many birds and fish, and some are cultured and harvested for fish food in many regions. There are 300 species spread across 8 families.

==Taxonomy==

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width:80%;"
|+ Fairy Shrimp Taxonomy
|-
|
! scope="row" | Kingdom
! scope="row" | Phylum
! scope="row" | Subphylum
! scope="row" | Class
! scope="row" | Subclass
! scope="row" | Order
|-
! scope="col" | Classification
| Animalia
| Arthropoda
| Crustacea
| Branchiopoda
| Sarsostraca
| Anostraca
|}

==Description==

A fairy shrimp's body is typically elongated and divided into three distinct parts: head, abdomen, and thorax. The whole animal can measure anywhere from .25 - 1 inch long (6-25 millimeters), however some species may not reach sexual maturity until they are 2 inches (50mm) long with the ability to grow up to almost 7 inches (170 mm)[1]. Fairy shrimp possess a thin but flexible exoskeleton that unlike other [[arthropods]] does not have a carapace (an upper section of exoskeleton found in many groups of [[animals]]) [1].

[[File:Brine.jpeg|thumb|A model showing the separate sections of a fairy shrimp.]]

===Head===
The head of fairy shrimp are distinct from the thorax in that the head possesses two compound eyes and then two separate pairs of antennae. The shape of the second pair of antennae differ between males and females of the species; the males second pair of antennae are enlarged and specialized (instead of long and cylindrical) in order to be able to better hold females during mating [7].

===Thorax and Abdomen===
Most members of this order have a thorax with 13 segments with the exception of ''Polyartemiella'' and ''Polyartemia'' which possess 19 and 21 segments respectively. All segments but the last two are similar in that they have a pair of flattened leaf-like appendages [1]. The last two segments of the body are fused together and the appendages are then specialized for sexual reproduction. Most fairy shrimp reproduce sexually, however a few reproduce by parthenogenesis. The abdomen is comprised of 6 segments without appendages, and a telson, which bears two flattened cercopods.

==Ecology==

Fairy shrimp inhabit inland waters including: vernal ponds, salt lakes, and lakes at high altitudes or latitudes. Due to their relatively large size and slow means of locomotion, Anostracans are easy prey for predatory fish and waterfowl [2]. This susceptibility to predation is the reason why they are restricted to areas with a lower quantity of predators.

[[File:Brine shrimp .jpeg|thumb| A Fairy Shrimp displaying its "upside-down" swimming method.]]

Anostracans swim gracefully by moving their phyllopodia which are connected to their body segments. When swimming, fairy shrimp will have their ventral side facing upward, which is why it is said that they are "swimming upside-down" [3]. While swimming they filter food indiscriminately from the water, and also scrape algae and other organic materials from solid surfaces. To do this, they turn to have their ventral side against the food surface [5].

Fairy shrimp have the ability to enter diapause, which is a state of biological dormancy where growth and metabolism are arrested, as an egg (or cyst) [4]. This is an especially important biological trait because it assists in both species' dispersal and overcoming adverse environmental conditions. Once a Fairy shrimp becomes dormant, these cysts can withstand conditions as harsh and diverse as droughts, frosts, hypersalinity, complete desiccation, exposure to UV radiation and even the vacuum of space. Diapause is also the best way for the fairy shrimp to colonize new habitats—facilitated by a variety of conditions including wind, predators, and currents as the adults are unable to leave the freshwater system [4].

==Feeding==
Different anostraca species eat different substances which varies from algae, plankton and organic particles from the water. Most anostracans feed on algae by scraping hard algae covered surfaces with their legs which then makes the algae more accessible to feed on. They also use their legs to filter feed organic particles from the water.

==Environmental Impact==
[[File:Shrimpfood.jpg|200px|thumb|left|Fairy shrimp are often sold as a food product for marine life and aquaculture.]]

Members of this order, most notably brine shrimp, are used as food for fish and other [[organisms]] in aquaria and aquaculture. In natural environments they are also eaten by birds, water boatmen, fishes and other crustaceans. Their drought-resistant eggs are collected from lakeshores and then stored and transported dry, after transportation they hatch readily when submerged in salt water. This is a multimillion-dollar industry centered in the Great Salt Lake in Utah and San Francisco Bay in California; adults are collected from Mono Lake and transported frozen [6].

==[[Diversity]]==
Of the four orders of Branchiopoda, Anostraca has the widest diversity range. There are approximately 313 species in it, arranged into 26 genera and eight families:
* Artemiidae – 1 genus, 8 species
* Branchinectidae – 1 genus, 45 species
* Branchipodidae – 5 genera, 35 species
* Chirocephalidae – 9 genera, 81 species
* Parartemiidae – 1 genus, 18 species
* Streptocephalidae – 1 genus, 56 species
* Tanymastigidae – 2 genera, 8 species
* Thamnocephalidae – 6 genera, 62 species

==References==
[1] Peter H. H. Weekers; Gopal Murugan; Jacques R. Vanfleteren; Denton Belk; Henri J. Dumont (2002). "Phylogenetic analysis of anostracans (Branchiopoda: Anostraca) inferred from nuclear 18S ribosomal DNA (18S rDNA) sequences" Pg. 535–544. doi:10.1016/S1055-7903(02)00289-0. PMID 12450757.

[2] Vernal Pool Fairy Shrimp. National Wildlife Federation. (n.d.). Retrieved May 10, 2022, from https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Invertebrates/Vernal-Pool-Fairy-Shrimp

[3] “Fairy Shrimp.” 2022. Fairy Shrimp | Merced [[Vernal Pools]] & Grassland Reserve. Accessed May 10. https://vernalpools.ucmerced.edu/ecosystem/reserve-fairy-shrimp.

[4] Fryer, Geoffrey (1996-03-01). "Diapause, a potent force in the evolution of freshwater crustaceans". Hydrobiologia. 320 (1–3): 1–14. doi:10.1007/bf00016800

[5] Denton Belk (2007). "Branchiopoda". In Sol Felty Light; James T. Carlton (eds.). The Light and Smith Manual: Intertidal [[Invertebrates]] from Central California to Oregon (4th ed.). University of California Press. pp. 414–417. ISBN 978-0-520-23939-5.

[6] J. M. Melack (2009). "Saline and soda lakes". In Sven Erik Jørgensen (ed.). Ecosystem [[Ecology]]. Academic Press. pp. 380–384. ISBN 978-0-444-53466-8.

[7] William David Williams (1980). "Arachnids and Crustaceans". Australian Freshwater Life: the Invertebrates of Australian Inland Waters (2nd ed.). Palgrave Macmillan Australia. pp. 118–184. ISBN 978-0-333-29894-7

[8] The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Brine Shrimp | Crustacean.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 2019, www.britannica.com/animal/brine-shrimp.

[9] Luc Brendonck; D. Christopher Rogers; Jorgen Olesen; Stephen Weeks; Walter R. Hoch (2008). "Global diversity of large branchiopods (Crustacea: Branchiopoda) in freshwater". In Estelle V. Balian; Christian Lévêque; Hendrik Segers; Koen Martens (eds.). Freshwater Animal Diversity Assessment. Developments in Hydrobiology 198. pp. 167–176. doi:10.1007/s10750-007-9119-9. ISBN 978-1-4020-8258-0. S2CID 46608816. Reprinted from Hydrobiologia, Volume 595

‌

File:Shrimpfood.jpg

2023-03-10T19:22:14Z

Gjmullen:

Anostraca

2023-03-10T19:19:42Z

Gjmullen:

[[File:Bsandiegonensis+-+Andres+Aguilar.jpg|thumb| The California Fairy Shrimp, one of the main drivers in the nature protection plan for vernal ponds in California.]] '''Anostraca''' is one of the four orders of crustaceans that compose the class ''Branchiopoda'', the members of this order are more commonly referred to as "fairy shrimp" or "brine shrimp". They swim upside-down and are typically found in [[vernal ponds]] and hypersaline lakes (landlocked lakes that contain high levels of sodium chloride and other salts, these saline levels are higher than the saline levels of ocean water) as well as deserts and colder regions such as ice covered mountains. They are an important food source for many birds and fish, and some are cultured and harvested for fish food in many regions. There are 300 species spread across 8 families.

==Taxonomy==

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width:80%;"
|+ Fairy Shrimp Taxonomy
|-
|
! scope="row" | Kingdom
! scope="row" | Phylum
! scope="row" | Subphylum
! scope="row" | Class
! scope="row" | Subclass
! scope="row" | Order
|-
! scope="col" | Classification
| Animalia
| Arthropoda
| Crustacea
| Branchiopoda
| Sarsostraca
| Anostraca
|}

==Description==

A fairy shrimp's body is typically elongated and divided into three distinct parts: head, abdomen, and thorax. The whole animal can measure anywhere from .25 - 1 inch long (6-25 millimeters), however some species may not reach sexual maturity until they are 2 inches (50mm) long with the ability to grow up to almost 7 inches (170 mm)[1]. Fairy shrimp possess a thin but flexible exoskeleton that unlike other [[arthropods]] does not have a carapace (an upper section of exoskeleton found in many groups of [[animals]]) [1].

[[File:Brine.jpeg|thumb|A model showing the separate sections of a fairy shrimp.]]

===Head===
The head of fairy shrimp are distinct from the thorax in that the head possesses two compound eyes and then two separate pairs of antennae. The shape of the second pair of antennae differ between males and females of the species; the males second pair of antennae are enlarged and specialized (instead of long and cylindrical) in order to be able to better hold females during mating [7].

===Thorax and Abdomen===
Most members of this order have a thorax with 13 segments with the exception of ''Polyartemiella'' and ''Polyartemia'' which possess 19 and 21 segments respectively. All segments but the last two are similar in that they have a pair of flattened leaf-like appendages [1]. The last two segments of the body are fused together and the appendages are then specialized for sexual reproduction. Most fairy shrimp reproduce sexually, however a few reproduce by parthenogenesis. The abdomen is comprised of 6 segments without appendages, and a telson, which bears two flattened cercopods.

==Ecology==

Fairy shrimp inhabit inland waters including: vernal ponds, salt lakes, and lakes at high altitudes or latitudes. Due to their relatively large size and slow means of locomotion, Anostracans are easy prey for predatory fish and waterfowl [2]. This susceptibility to predation is the reason why they are restricted to areas with a lower quantity of predators.

[[File:Brine shrimp .jpeg|thumb| A Fairy Shrimp displaying its "upside-down" swimming method.]]

Anostracans swim gracefully by moving their phyllopodia which are connected to their body segments. When swimming, fairy shrimp will have their ventral side facing upward, which is why it is said that they are "swimming upside-down" [3]. While swimming they filter food indiscriminately from the water, and also scrape algae and other organic materials from solid surfaces. To do this, they turn to have their ventral side against the food surface [5].

Fairy shrimp have the ability to enter diapause, which is a state of biological dormancy where growth and metabolism are arrested, as an egg (or cyst) [4]. This is an especially important biological trait because it assists in both species' dispersal and overcoming adverse environmental conditions. Once a Fairy shrimp becomes dormant, these cysts can withstand conditions as harsh and diverse as droughts, frosts, hypersalinity, complete desiccation, exposure to UV radiation and even the vacuum of space. Diapause is also the best way for the fairy shrimp to colonize new habitats—facilitated by a variety of conditions including wind, predators, and currents as the adults are unable to leave the freshwater system [4].

==Feeding==
Different anostraca species eat different substances which varies from algae, plankton and organic particles from the water. Most anostracans feed on algae by scraping hard algae covered surfaces with their legs which then makes the algae more accessible to feed on. They also use their legs to filter feed organic particles from the water.

==Environmental Impact==
[[File: Fairy Shrimp Food.jpg|thumb| Fairy shrimp are often sold as a food product for marine life and aquaculture.]]

Members of this order, most notably brine shrimp, are used as food for fish and other [[organisms]] in aquaria and aquaculture. In natural environments they are also eaten by birds, water boatmen, fishes and other crustaceans. Their drought-resistant eggs are collected from lakeshores and then stored and transported dry, after transportation they hatch readily when submerged in salt water. This is a multimillion-dollar industry centered in the Great Salt Lake in Utah and San Francisco Bay in California; adults are collected from Mono Lake and transported frozen [6].

==[[Diversity]]==
Of the four orders of Branchiopoda, Anostraca has the widest diversity range. There are approximately 313 species in it, arranged into 26 genera and eight families:
* Artemiidae – 1 genus, 8 species
* Branchinectidae – 1 genus, 45 species
* Branchipodidae – 5 genera, 35 species
* Chirocephalidae – 9 genera, 81 species
* Parartemiidae – 1 genus, 18 species
* Streptocephalidae – 1 genus, 56 species
* Tanymastigidae – 2 genera, 8 species
* Thamnocephalidae – 6 genera, 62 species

==References==
[1] Peter H. H. Weekers; Gopal Murugan; Jacques R. Vanfleteren; Denton Belk; Henri J. Dumont (2002). "Phylogenetic analysis of anostracans (Branchiopoda: Anostraca) inferred from nuclear 18S ribosomal DNA (18S rDNA) sequences" Pg. 535–544. doi:10.1016/S1055-7903(02)00289-0. PMID 12450757.

[2] Vernal Pool Fairy Shrimp. National Wildlife Federation. (n.d.). Retrieved May 10, 2022, from https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Invertebrates/Vernal-Pool-Fairy-Shrimp

[3] “Fairy Shrimp.” 2022. Fairy Shrimp | Merced [[Vernal Pools]] & Grassland Reserve. Accessed May 10. https://vernalpools.ucmerced.edu/ecosystem/reserve-fairy-shrimp.

[4] Fryer, Geoffrey (1996-03-01). "Diapause, a potent force in the evolution of freshwater crustaceans". Hydrobiologia. 320 (1–3): 1–14. doi:10.1007/bf00016800

[5] Denton Belk (2007). "Branchiopoda". In Sol Felty Light; James T. Carlton (eds.). The Light and Smith Manual: Intertidal [[Invertebrates]] from Central California to Oregon (4th ed.). University of California Press. pp. 414–417. ISBN 978-0-520-23939-5.

[6] J. M. Melack (2009). "Saline and soda lakes". In Sven Erik Jørgensen (ed.). Ecosystem [[Ecology]]. Academic Press. pp. 380–384. ISBN 978-0-444-53466-8.

[7] William David Williams (1980). "Arachnids and Crustaceans". Australian Freshwater Life: the Invertebrates of Australian Inland Waters (2nd ed.). Palgrave Macmillan Australia. pp. 118–184. ISBN 978-0-333-29894-7

[8] The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Brine Shrimp | Crustacean.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 2019, www.britannica.com/animal/brine-shrimp.

[9] Luc Brendonck; D. Christopher Rogers; Jorgen Olesen; Stephen Weeks; Walter R. Hoch (2008). "Global diversity of large branchiopods (Crustacea: Branchiopoda) in freshwater". In Estelle V. Balian; Christian Lévêque; Hendrik Segers; Koen Martens (eds.). Freshwater Animal Diversity Assessment. Developments in Hydrobiology 198. pp. 167–176. doi:10.1007/s10750-007-9119-9. ISBN 978-1-4020-8258-0. S2CID 46608816. Reprinted from Hydrobiologia, Volume 595

‌

Anostraca

2023-03-10T19:19:16Z

Gjmullen:

[[File:Bsandiegonensis+-+Andres+Aguilar.jpg|thumb| The California Fairy Shrimp, one of the main drivers in the nature protection plan for vernal ponds in California.]] '''Anostraca''' is one of the four orders of crustaceans that compose the class ''Branchiopoda'', the members of this order are more commonly referred to as "fairy shrimp" or "brine shrimp". They swim upside-down and are typically found in [[vernal ponds]] and hypersaline lakes (landlocked lakes that contain high levels of sodium chloride and other salts, these saline levels are higher than the saline levels of ocean water) as well as deserts and colder regions such as ice covered mountains. They are an important food source for many birds and fish, and some are cultured and harvested for fish food in many regions. There are 300 species spread across 8 families.

==Taxonomy==

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width:80%;"
|+ Fairy Shrimp Taxonomy
|-
|
! scope="row" | Kingdom
! scope="row" | Phylum
! scope="row" | Subphylum
! scope="row" | Class
! scope="row" | Subclass
! scope="row" | Order
|-
! scope="col" | Classification
| Animalia
| Arthropoda
| Crustacea
| Branchiopoda
| Sarsostraca
| Anostraca
|}

==Description==

A fairy shrimp's body is typically elongated and divided into three distinct parts: head, abdomen, and thorax. The whole animal can measure anywhere from .25 - 1 inch long (6-25 millimeters), however some species may not reach sexual maturity until they are 2 inches (50mm) long with the ability to grow up to almost 7 inches (170 mm)[1]. Fairy shrimp possess a thin but flexible exoskeleton that unlike other [[arthropods]] does not have a carapace (an upper section of exoskeleton found in many groups of [[animals]]) [1].

[[File:Brine.jpeg|thumb|A model showing the separate sections of a fairy shrimp.]]

===Head===
The head of fairy shrimp are distinct from the thorax in that the head possesses two compound eyes and then two separate pairs of antennae. The shape of the second pair of antennae differ between males and females of the species; the males second pair of antennae are enlarged and specialized (instead of long and cylindrical) in order to be able to better hold females during mating [7].

===Thorax and Abdomen===
Most members of this order have a thorax with 13 segments with the exception of ''Polyartemiella'' and ''Polyartemia'' which possess 19 and 21 segments respectively. All segments but the last two are similar in that they have a pair of flattened leaf-like appendages [1]. The last two segments of the body are fused together and the appendages are then specialized for sexual reproduction. Most fairy shrimp reproduce sexually, however a few reproduce by parthenogenesis. The abdomen is comprised of 6 segments without appendages, and a telson, which bears two flattened cercopods.

==Ecology==

Fairy shrimp inhabit inland waters including: vernal ponds, salt lakes, and lakes at high altitudes or latitudes. Due to their relatively large size and slow means of locomotion, Anostracans are easy prey for predatory fish and waterfowl [2]. This susceptibility to predation is the reason why they are restricted to areas with a lower quantity of predators.

[[File:Brine shrimp.jpeg|thumb| A Fairy Shrimp displaying its "upside-down" swimming method.]]

Anostracans swim gracefully by moving their phyllopodia which are connected to their body segments. When swimming, fairy shrimp will have their ventral side facing upward, which is why it is said that they are "swimming upside-down" [3]. While swimming they filter food indiscriminately from the water, and also scrape algae and other organic materials from solid surfaces. To do this, they turn to have their ventral side against the food surface [5].

Fairy shrimp have the ability to enter diapause, which is a state of biological dormancy where growth and metabolism are arrested, as an egg (or cyst) [4]. This is an especially important biological trait because it assists in both species' dispersal and overcoming adverse environmental conditions. Once a Fairy shrimp becomes dormant, these cysts can withstand conditions as harsh and diverse as droughts, frosts, hypersalinity, complete desiccation, exposure to UV radiation and even the vacuum of space. Diapause is also the best way for the fairy shrimp to colonize new habitats—facilitated by a variety of conditions including wind, predators, and currents as the adults are unable to leave the freshwater system [4].

==Feeding==
Different anostraca species eat different substances which varies from algae, plankton and organic particles from the water. Most anostracans feed on algae by scraping hard algae covered surfaces with their legs which then makes the algae more accessible to feed on. They also use their legs to filter feed organic particles from the water.

==Environmental Impact==
[[File: Fairy Shrimp Food.jpg|thumb| Fairy shrimp are often sold as a food product for marine life and aquaculture.]]

Members of this order, most notably brine shrimp, are used as food for fish and other [[organisms]] in aquaria and aquaculture. In natural environments they are also eaten by birds, water boatmen, fishes and other crustaceans. Their drought-resistant eggs are collected from lakeshores and then stored and transported dry, after transportation they hatch readily when submerged in salt water. This is a multimillion-dollar industry centered in the Great Salt Lake in Utah and San Francisco Bay in California; adults are collected from Mono Lake and transported frozen [6].

==[[Diversity]]==
Of the four orders of Branchiopoda, Anostraca has the widest diversity range. There are approximately 313 species in it, arranged into 26 genera and eight families:
* Artemiidae – 1 genus, 8 species
* Branchinectidae – 1 genus, 45 species
* Branchipodidae – 5 genera, 35 species
* Chirocephalidae – 9 genera, 81 species
* Parartemiidae – 1 genus, 18 species
* Streptocephalidae – 1 genus, 56 species
* Tanymastigidae – 2 genera, 8 species
* Thamnocephalidae – 6 genera, 62 species

==References==
[1] Peter H. H. Weekers; Gopal Murugan; Jacques R. Vanfleteren; Denton Belk; Henri J. Dumont (2002). "Phylogenetic analysis of anostracans (Branchiopoda: Anostraca) inferred from nuclear 18S ribosomal DNA (18S rDNA) sequences" Pg. 535–544. doi:10.1016/S1055-7903(02)00289-0. PMID 12450757.

[2] Vernal Pool Fairy Shrimp. National Wildlife Federation. (n.d.). Retrieved May 10, 2022, from https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Invertebrates/Vernal-Pool-Fairy-Shrimp

[3] “Fairy Shrimp.” 2022. Fairy Shrimp | Merced [[Vernal Pools]] & Grassland Reserve. Accessed May 10. https://vernalpools.ucmerced.edu/ecosystem/reserve-fairy-shrimp.

[4] Fryer, Geoffrey (1996-03-01). "Diapause, a potent force in the evolution of freshwater crustaceans". Hydrobiologia. 320 (1–3): 1–14. doi:10.1007/bf00016800

[5] Denton Belk (2007). "Branchiopoda". In Sol Felty Light; James T. Carlton (eds.). The Light and Smith Manual: Intertidal [[Invertebrates]] from Central California to Oregon (4th ed.). University of California Press. pp. 414–417. ISBN 978-0-520-23939-5.

[6] J. M. Melack (2009). "Saline and soda lakes". In Sven Erik Jørgensen (ed.). Ecosystem [[Ecology]]. Academic Press. pp. 380–384. ISBN 978-0-444-53466-8.

[7] William David Williams (1980). "Arachnids and Crustaceans". Australian Freshwater Life: the Invertebrates of Australian Inland Waters (2nd ed.). Palgrave Macmillan Australia. pp. 118–184. ISBN 978-0-333-29894-7

[8] The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Brine Shrimp | Crustacean.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 2019, www.britannica.com/animal/brine-shrimp.

[9] Luc Brendonck; D. Christopher Rogers; Jorgen Olesen; Stephen Weeks; Walter R. Hoch (2008). "Global diversity of large branchiopods (Crustacea: Branchiopoda) in freshwater". In Estelle V. Balian; Christian Lévêque; Hendrik Segers; Koen Martens (eds.). Freshwater Animal Diversity Assessment. Developments in Hydrobiology 198. pp. 167–176. doi:10.1007/s10750-007-9119-9. ISBN 978-1-4020-8258-0. S2CID 46608816. Reprinted from Hydrobiologia, Volume 595

‌

Anostraca

2023-03-10T19:18:39Z

Gjmullen:

[[File:Bsandiegonensis+-+Andres+Aguilar.jpg|thumb| The California Fairy Shrimp, one of the main drivers in the nature protection plan for vernal ponds in California.]] '''Anostraca''' is one of the four orders of crustaceans that compose the class ''Branchiopoda'', the members of this order are more commonly referred to as "fairy shrimp" or "brine shrimp". They swim upside-down and are typically found in [[vernal ponds]] and hypersaline lakes (landlocked lakes that contain high levels of sodium chloride and other salts, these saline levels are higher than the saline levels of ocean water) as well as deserts and colder regions such as ice covered mountains. They are an important food source for many birds and fish, and some are cultured and harvested for fish food in many regions. There are 300 species spread across 8 families.

==Taxonomy==

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width:80%;"
|+ Fairy Shrimp Taxonomy
|-
|
! scope="row" | Kingdom
! scope="row" | Phylum
! scope="row" | Subphylum
! scope="row" | Class
! scope="row" | Subclass
! scope="row" | Order
|-
! scope="col" | Classification
| Animalia
| Arthropoda
| Crustacea
| Branchiopoda
| Sarsostraca
| Anostraca
|}

==Description==

A fairy shrimp's body is typically elongated and divided into three distinct parts: head, abdomen, and thorax. The whole animal can measure anywhere from .25 - 1 inch long (6-25 millimeters), however some species may not reach sexual maturity until they are 2 inches (50mm) long with the ability to grow up to almost 7 inches (170 mm)[1]. Fairy shrimp possess a thin but flexible exoskeleton that unlike other [[arthropods]] does not have a carapace (an upper section of exoskeleton found in many groups of [[animals]]) [1].

[[File:Brine.jpeg|thumb|A model showing the separate sections of a fairy shrimp.]]

===Head===
The head of fairy shrimp are distinct from the thorax in that the head possesses two compound eyes and then two separate pairs of antennae. The shape of the second pair of antennae differ between males and females of the species; the males second pair of antennae are enlarged and specialized (instead of long and cylindrical) in order to be able to better hold females during mating [7].

===Thorax and Abdomen===
Most members of this order have a thorax with 13 segments with the exception of ''Polyartemiella'' and ''Polyartemia'' which possess 19 and 21 segments respectively. All segments but the last two are similar in that they have a pair of flattened leaf-like appendages [1]. The last two segments of the body are fused together and the appendages are then specialized for sexual reproduction. Most fairy shrimp reproduce sexually, however a few reproduce by parthenogenesis. The abdomen is comprised of 6 segments without appendages, and a telson, which bears two flattened cercopods.

==Ecology==

Fairy shrimp inhabit inland waters including: vernal ponds, salt lakes, and lakes at high altitudes or latitudes. Due to their relatively large size and slow means of locomotion, Anostracans are easy prey for predatory fish and waterfowl [2]. This susceptibility to predation is the reason why they are restricted to areas with a lower quantity of predators.

[[File: Brine shrimp.jpeg|thumb| A Fairy Shrimp displaying its "upside-down" swimming method.]]

Anostracans swim gracefully by moving their phyllopodia which are connected to their body segments. When swimming, fairy shrimp will have their ventral side facing upward, which is why it is said that they are "swimming upside-down" [3]. While swimming they filter food indiscriminately from the water, and also scrape algae and other organic materials from solid surfaces. To do this, they turn to have their ventral side against the food surface [5].

Fairy shrimp have the ability to enter diapause, which is a state of biological dormancy where growth and metabolism are arrested, as an egg (or cyst) [4]. This is an especially important biological trait because it assists in both species' dispersal and overcoming adverse environmental conditions. Once a Fairy shrimp becomes dormant, these cysts can withstand conditions as harsh and diverse as droughts, frosts, hypersalinity, complete desiccation, exposure to UV radiation and even the vacuum of space. Diapause is also the best way for the fairy shrimp to colonize new habitats—facilitated by a variety of conditions including wind, predators, and currents as the adults are unable to leave the freshwater system [4].

==Feeding==
Different anostraca species eat different substances which varies from algae, plankton and organic particles from the water. Most anostracans feed on algae by scraping hard algae covered surfaces with their legs which then makes the algae more accessible to feed on. They also use their legs to filter feed organic particles from the water.

==Environmental Impact==
[[File: Fairy Shrimp Food.jpg|thumb| Fairy shrimp are often sold as a food product for marine life and aquaculture.]]

Members of this order, most notably brine shrimp, are used as food for fish and other [[organisms]] in aquaria and aquaculture. In natural environments they are also eaten by birds, water boatmen, fishes and other crustaceans. Their drought-resistant eggs are collected from lakeshores and then stored and transported dry, after transportation they hatch readily when submerged in salt water. This is a multimillion-dollar industry centered in the Great Salt Lake in Utah and San Francisco Bay in California; adults are collected from Mono Lake and transported frozen [6].

==[[Diversity]]==
Of the four orders of Branchiopoda, Anostraca has the widest diversity range. There are approximately 313 species in it, arranged into 26 genera and eight families:
* Artemiidae – 1 genus, 8 species
* Branchinectidae – 1 genus, 45 species
* Branchipodidae – 5 genera, 35 species
* Chirocephalidae – 9 genera, 81 species
* Parartemiidae – 1 genus, 18 species
* Streptocephalidae – 1 genus, 56 species
* Tanymastigidae – 2 genera, 8 species
* Thamnocephalidae – 6 genera, 62 species

==References==
[1] Peter H. H. Weekers; Gopal Murugan; Jacques R. Vanfleteren; Denton Belk; Henri J. Dumont (2002). "Phylogenetic analysis of anostracans (Branchiopoda: Anostraca) inferred from nuclear 18S ribosomal DNA (18S rDNA) sequences" Pg. 535–544. doi:10.1016/S1055-7903(02)00289-0. PMID 12450757.

[2] Vernal Pool Fairy Shrimp. National Wildlife Federation. (n.d.). Retrieved May 10, 2022, from https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Invertebrates/Vernal-Pool-Fairy-Shrimp

[3] “Fairy Shrimp.” 2022. Fairy Shrimp | Merced [[Vernal Pools]] & Grassland Reserve. Accessed May 10. https://vernalpools.ucmerced.edu/ecosystem/reserve-fairy-shrimp.

[4] Fryer, Geoffrey (1996-03-01). "Diapause, a potent force in the evolution of freshwater crustaceans". Hydrobiologia. 320 (1–3): 1–14. doi:10.1007/bf00016800

[5] Denton Belk (2007). "Branchiopoda". In Sol Felty Light; James T. Carlton (eds.). The Light and Smith Manual: Intertidal [[Invertebrates]] from Central California to Oregon (4th ed.). University of California Press. pp. 414–417. ISBN 978-0-520-23939-5.

[6] J. M. Melack (2009). "Saline and soda lakes". In Sven Erik Jørgensen (ed.). Ecosystem [[Ecology]]. Academic Press. pp. 380–384. ISBN 978-0-444-53466-8.

[7] William David Williams (1980). "Arachnids and Crustaceans". Australian Freshwater Life: the Invertebrates of Australian Inland Waters (2nd ed.). Palgrave Macmillan Australia. pp. 118–184. ISBN 978-0-333-29894-7

[8] The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Brine Shrimp | Crustacean.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 2019, www.britannica.com/animal/brine-shrimp.

[9] Luc Brendonck; D. Christopher Rogers; Jorgen Olesen; Stephen Weeks; Walter R. Hoch (2008). "Global diversity of large branchiopods (Crustacea: Branchiopoda) in freshwater". In Estelle V. Balian; Christian Lévêque; Hendrik Segers; Koen Martens (eds.). Freshwater Animal Diversity Assessment. Developments in Hydrobiology 198. pp. 167–176. doi:10.1007/s10750-007-9119-9. ISBN 978-1-4020-8258-0. S2CID 46608816. Reprinted from Hydrobiologia, Volume 595

‌

File:Bsandiegonensis+-+Andres+Aguilar.jpg

2023-03-10T19:16:57Z

Gjmullen:

Anostraca

2023-03-10T19:14:38Z

Gjmullen:

[[File:Brine shrimp .jpeg|thumb| The California Fairy Shrimp, one of the main drivers in the nature protection plan for vernal ponds in California.]] '''Anostraca''' is one of the four orders of crustaceans that compose the class ''Branchiopoda'', the members of this order are more commonly referred to as "fairy shrimp" or "brine shrimp". They swim upside-down and are typically found in [[vernal ponds]] and hypersaline lakes (landlocked lakes that contain high levels of sodium chloride and other salts, these saline levels are higher than the saline levels of ocean water) as well as deserts and colder regions such as ice covered mountains. They are an important food source for many birds and fish, and some are cultured and harvested for fish food in many regions. There are 300 species spread across 8 families.

==Taxonomy==

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width:80%;"
|+ Fairy Shrimp Taxonomy
|-
|
! scope="row" | Kingdom
! scope="row" | Phylum
! scope="row" | Subphylum
! scope="row" | Class
! scope="row" | Subclass
! scope="row" | Order
|-
! scope="col" | Classification
| Animalia
| Arthropoda
| Crustacea
| Branchiopoda
| Sarsostraca
| Anostraca
|}

==Description==

A fairy shrimp's body is typically elongated and divided into three distinct parts: head, abdomen, and thorax. The whole animal can measure anywhere from .25 - 1 inch long (6-25 millimeters), however some species may not reach sexual maturity until they are 2 inches (50mm) long with the ability to grow up to almost 7 inches (170 mm)[1]. Fairy shrimp possess a thin but flexible exoskeleton that unlike other [[arthropods]] does not have a carapace (an upper section of exoskeleton found in many groups of [[animals]]) [1].

[[File:Brine.jpeg|thumb|A model showing the separate sections of a fairy shrimp.]]

===Head===
The head of fairy shrimp are distinct from the thorax in that the head possesses two compound eyes and then two separate pairs of antennae. The shape of the second pair of antennae differ between males and females of the species; the males second pair of antennae are enlarged and specialized (instead of long and cylindrical) in order to be able to better hold females during mating [7].

===Thorax and Abdomen===
Most members of this order have a thorax with 13 segments with the exception of ''Polyartemiella'' and ''Polyartemia'' which possess 19 and 21 segments respectively. All segments but the last two are similar in that they have a pair of flattened leaf-like appendages [1]. The last two segments of the body are fused together and the appendages are then specialized for sexual reproduction. Most fairy shrimp reproduce sexually, however a few reproduce by parthenogenesis. The abdomen is comprised of 6 segments without appendages, and a telson, which bears two flattened cercopods.

==Ecology==

Fairy shrimp inhabit inland waters including: vernal ponds, salt lakes, and lakes at high altitudes or latitudes. Due to their relatively large size and slow means of locomotion, Anostracans are easy prey for predatory fish and waterfowl [2]. This susceptibility to predation is the reason why they are restricted to areas with a lower quantity of predators.

[[File: Upside Down Fairy Shrimp.jpg|thumb| A Fairy Shrimp displaying its "upside-down" swimming method.]]

Anostracans swim gracefully by moving their phyllopodia which are connected to their body segments. When swimming, fairy shrimp will have their ventral side facing upward, which is why it is said that they are "swimming upside-down" [3]. While swimming they filter food indiscriminately from the water, and also scrape algae and other organic materials from solid surfaces. To do this, they turn to have their ventral side against the food surface [5].

Fairy shrimp have the ability to enter diapause, which is a state of biological dormancy where growth and metabolism are arrested, as an egg (or cyst) [4]. This is an especially important biological trait because it assists in both species' dispersal and overcoming adverse environmental conditions. Once a Fairy shrimp becomes dormant, these cysts can withstand conditions as harsh and diverse as droughts, frosts, hypersalinity, complete desiccation, exposure to UV radiation and even the vacuum of space. Diapause is also the best way for the fairy shrimp to colonize new habitats—facilitated by a variety of conditions including wind, predators, and currents as the adults are unable to leave the freshwater system [4].

==Feeding==
Different anostraca species eat different substances which varies from algae, plankton and organic particles from the water. Most anostracans feed on algae by scraping hard algae covered surfaces with their legs which then makes the algae more accessible to feed on. They also use their legs to filter feed organic particles from the water.

==Environmental Impact==
[[File: Fairy Shrimp Food.jpg|thumb| Fairy shrimp are often sold as a food product for marine life and aquaculture.]]

Members of this order, most notably brine shrimp, are used as food for fish and other [[organisms]] in aquaria and aquaculture. In natural environments they are also eaten by birds, water boatmen, fishes and other crustaceans. Their drought-resistant eggs are collected from lakeshores and then stored and transported dry, after transportation they hatch readily when submerged in salt water. This is a multimillion-dollar industry centered in the Great Salt Lake in Utah and San Francisco Bay in California; adults are collected from Mono Lake and transported frozen [6].

==[[Diversity]]==
Of the four orders of Branchiopoda, Anostraca has the widest diversity range. There are approximately 313 species in it, arranged into 26 genera and eight families:
* Artemiidae – 1 genus, 8 species
* Branchinectidae – 1 genus, 45 species
* Branchipodidae – 5 genera, 35 species
* Chirocephalidae – 9 genera, 81 species
* Parartemiidae – 1 genus, 18 species
* Streptocephalidae – 1 genus, 56 species
* Tanymastigidae – 2 genera, 8 species
* Thamnocephalidae – 6 genera, 62 species

==References==
[1] Peter H. H. Weekers; Gopal Murugan; Jacques R. Vanfleteren; Denton Belk; Henri J. Dumont (2002). "Phylogenetic analysis of anostracans (Branchiopoda: Anostraca) inferred from nuclear 18S ribosomal DNA (18S rDNA) sequences" Pg. 535–544. doi:10.1016/S1055-7903(02)00289-0. PMID 12450757.

[2] Vernal Pool Fairy Shrimp. National Wildlife Federation. (n.d.). Retrieved May 10, 2022, from https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Invertebrates/Vernal-Pool-Fairy-Shrimp

[3] “Fairy Shrimp.” 2022. Fairy Shrimp | Merced [[Vernal Pools]] & Grassland Reserve. Accessed May 10. https://vernalpools.ucmerced.edu/ecosystem/reserve-fairy-shrimp.

[4] Fryer, Geoffrey (1996-03-01). "Diapause, a potent force in the evolution of freshwater crustaceans". Hydrobiologia. 320 (1–3): 1–14. doi:10.1007/bf00016800

[5] Denton Belk (2007). "Branchiopoda". In Sol Felty Light; James T. Carlton (eds.). The Light and Smith Manual: Intertidal [[Invertebrates]] from Central California to Oregon (4th ed.). University of California Press. pp. 414–417. ISBN 978-0-520-23939-5.

[6] J. M. Melack (2009). "Saline and soda lakes". In Sven Erik Jørgensen (ed.). Ecosystem [[Ecology]]. Academic Press. pp. 380–384. ISBN 978-0-444-53466-8.

[7] William David Williams (1980). "Arachnids and Crustaceans". Australian Freshwater Life: the Invertebrates of Australian Inland Waters (2nd ed.). Palgrave Macmillan Australia. pp. 118–184. ISBN 978-0-333-29894-7

[8] The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Brine Shrimp | Crustacean.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 2019, www.britannica.com/animal/brine-shrimp.

[9] Luc Brendonck; D. Christopher Rogers; Jorgen Olesen; Stephen Weeks; Walter R. Hoch (2008). "Global diversity of large branchiopods (Crustacea: Branchiopoda) in freshwater". In Estelle V. Balian; Christian Lévêque; Hendrik Segers; Koen Martens (eds.). Freshwater Animal Diversity Assessment. Developments in Hydrobiology 198. pp. 167–176. doi:10.1007/s10750-007-9119-9. ISBN 978-1-4020-8258-0. S2CID 46608816. Reprinted from Hydrobiologia, Volume 595

‌

File:Brine.jpeg

2023-03-10T19:13:29Z

Gjmullen:

Anostraca

2023-03-10T19:08:23Z

Gjmullen:

[[File:Brine shrimp .jpeg|thumb| The California Fairy Shrimp, one of the main drivers in the nature protection plan for vernal ponds in California.]] '''Anostraca''' is one of the four orders of crustaceans that compose the class ''Branchiopoda'', the members of this order are more commonly referred to as "fairy shrimp" or "brine shrimp". They swim upside-down and are typically found in [[vernal ponds]] and hypersaline lakes (landlocked lakes that contain high levels of sodium chloride and other salts, these saline levels are higher than the saline levels of ocean water) as well as deserts and colder regions such as ice covered mountains. They are an important food source for many birds and fish, and some are cultured and harvested for fish food in many regions. There are 300 species spread across 8 families.

==Taxonomy==

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width:80%;"
|+ Fairy Shrimp Taxonomy
|-
|
! scope="row" | Kingdom
! scope="row" | Phylum
! scope="row" | Subphylum
! scope="row" | Class
! scope="row" | Subclass
! scope="row" | Order
|-
! scope="col" | Classification
| Animalia
| Arthropoda
| Crustacea
| Branchiopoda
| Sarsostraca
| Anostraca
|}

==Description==

A fairy shrimp's body is typically elongated and divided into three distinct parts: head, abdomen, and thorax. The whole animal can measure anywhere from .25 - 1 inch long (6-25 millimeters), however some species may not reach sexual maturity until they are 2 inches (50mm) long with the ability to grow up to almost 7 inches (170 mm)[1]. Fairy shrimp possess a thin but flexible exoskeleton that unlike other [[arthropods]] does not have a carapace (an upper section of exoskeleton found in many groups of [[animals]]) [1].

[[File: Fairy Shrimp Model.gif|thumb|A model showing the separate sections of a fairy shrimp; e sections denote the head, while h and i sections represent the thorax and abdomen.]]

===Head===
The head of fairy shrimp are distinct from the thorax in that the head possesses two compound eyes and then two separate pairs of antennae. The shape of the second pair of antennae differ between males and females of the species; the males second pair of antennae are enlarged and specialized (instead of long and cylindrical) in order to be able to better hold females during mating [7].

===Thorax and Abdomen===
Most members of this order have a thorax with 13 segments with the exception of ''Polyartemiella'' and ''Polyartemia'' which possess 19 and 21 segments respectively. All segments but the last two are similar in that they have a pair of flattened leaf-like appendages [1]. The last two segments of the body are fused together and the appendages are then specialized for sexual reproduction. Most fairy shrimp reproduce sexually, however a few reproduce by parthenogenesis. The abdomen is comprised of 6 segments without appendages, and a telson, which bears two flattened cercopods.

==Ecology==

Fairy shrimp inhabit inland waters including: vernal ponds, salt lakes, and lakes at high altitudes or latitudes. Due to their relatively large size and slow means of locomotion, Anostracans are easy prey for predatory fish and waterfowl [2]. This susceptibility to predation is the reason why they are restricted to areas with a lower quantity of predators.

[[File: Upside Down Fairy Shrimp.jpg|thumb| A Fairy Shrimp displaying its "upside-down" swimming method.]]

Anostracans swim gracefully by moving their phyllopodia which are connected to their body segments. When swimming, fairy shrimp will have their ventral side facing upward, which is why it is said that they are "swimming upside-down" [3]. While swimming they filter food indiscriminately from the water, and also scrape algae and other organic materials from solid surfaces. To do this, they turn to have their ventral side against the food surface [5].

Fairy shrimp have the ability to enter diapause, which is a state of biological dormancy where growth and metabolism are arrested, as an egg (or cyst) [4]. This is an especially important biological trait because it assists in both species' dispersal and overcoming adverse environmental conditions. Once a Fairy shrimp becomes dormant, these cysts can withstand conditions as harsh and diverse as droughts, frosts, hypersalinity, complete desiccation, exposure to UV radiation and even the vacuum of space. Diapause is also the best way for the fairy shrimp to colonize new habitats—facilitated by a variety of conditions including wind, predators, and currents as the adults are unable to leave the freshwater system [4].

==Feeding==
Different anostraca species eat different substances which varies from algae, plankton and organic particles from the water. Most anostracans feed on algae by scraping hard algae covered surfaces with their legs which then makes the algae more accessible to feed on. They also use their legs to filter feed organic particles from the water.

==Environmental Impact==
[[File: Fairy Shrimp Food.jpg|thumb| Fairy shrimp are often sold as a food product for marine life and aquaculture.]]

Members of this order, most notably brine shrimp, are used as food for fish and other [[organisms]] in aquaria and aquaculture. In natural environments they are also eaten by birds, water boatmen, fishes and other crustaceans. Their drought-resistant eggs are collected from lakeshores and then stored and transported dry, after transportation they hatch readily when submerged in salt water. This is a multimillion-dollar industry centered in the Great Salt Lake in Utah and San Francisco Bay in California; adults are collected from Mono Lake and transported frozen [6].

==[[Diversity]]==
Of the four orders of Branchiopoda, Anostraca has the widest diversity range. There are approximately 313 species in it, arranged into 26 genera and eight families:
* Artemiidae – 1 genus, 8 species
* Branchinectidae – 1 genus, 45 species
* Branchipodidae – 5 genera, 35 species
* Chirocephalidae – 9 genera, 81 species
* Parartemiidae – 1 genus, 18 species
* Streptocephalidae – 1 genus, 56 species
* Tanymastigidae – 2 genera, 8 species
* Thamnocephalidae – 6 genera, 62 species

==References==
[1] Peter H. H. Weekers; Gopal Murugan; Jacques R. Vanfleteren; Denton Belk; Henri J. Dumont (2002). "Phylogenetic analysis of anostracans (Branchiopoda: Anostraca) inferred from nuclear 18S ribosomal DNA (18S rDNA) sequences" Pg. 535–544. doi:10.1016/S1055-7903(02)00289-0. PMID 12450757.

[2] Vernal Pool Fairy Shrimp. National Wildlife Federation. (n.d.). Retrieved May 10, 2022, from https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Invertebrates/Vernal-Pool-Fairy-Shrimp

[3] “Fairy Shrimp.” 2022. Fairy Shrimp | Merced [[Vernal Pools]] & Grassland Reserve. Accessed May 10. https://vernalpools.ucmerced.edu/ecosystem/reserve-fairy-shrimp.

[4] Fryer, Geoffrey (1996-03-01). "Diapause, a potent force in the evolution of freshwater crustaceans". Hydrobiologia. 320 (1–3): 1–14. doi:10.1007/bf00016800

[5] Denton Belk (2007). "Branchiopoda". In Sol Felty Light; James T. Carlton (eds.). The Light and Smith Manual: Intertidal [[Invertebrates]] from Central California to Oregon (4th ed.). University of California Press. pp. 414–417. ISBN 978-0-520-23939-5.

[6] J. M. Melack (2009). "Saline and soda lakes". In Sven Erik Jørgensen (ed.). Ecosystem [[Ecology]]. Academic Press. pp. 380–384. ISBN 978-0-444-53466-8.

[7] William David Williams (1980). "Arachnids and Crustaceans". Australian Freshwater Life: the Invertebrates of Australian Inland Waters (2nd ed.). Palgrave Macmillan Australia. pp. 118–184. ISBN 978-0-333-29894-7

[8] The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Brine Shrimp | Crustacean.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 2019, www.britannica.com/animal/brine-shrimp.

[9] Luc Brendonck; D. Christopher Rogers; Jorgen Olesen; Stephen Weeks; Walter R. Hoch (2008). "Global diversity of large branchiopods (Crustacea: Branchiopoda) in freshwater". In Estelle V. Balian; Christian Lévêque; Hendrik Segers; Koen Martens (eds.). Freshwater Animal Diversity Assessment. Developments in Hydrobiology 198. pp. 167–176. doi:10.1007/s10750-007-9119-9. ISBN 978-1-4020-8258-0. S2CID 46608816. Reprinted from Hydrobiologia, Volume 595

‌

File:Brine shrimp .jpeg

2023-03-10T19:06:44Z

Gjmullen:

Anostraca

2023-03-10T18:21:40Z

Gjmullen:

[[File: California Fairy Shrimp.jpg|thumb| The California Fairy Shrimp, one of the main drivers in the nature protection plan for vernal ponds in California.]] '''Anostraca''' is one of the four orders of crustaceans that compose the class ''Branchiopoda'', the members of this order are more commonly referred to as "fairy shrimp" or "brine shrimp". They swim upside-down and are typically found in [[vernal ponds]] and hypersaline lakes (landlocked lakes that contain high levels of sodium chloride and other salts, these saline levels are higher than the saline levels of ocean water) as well as deserts and colder regions such as ice covered mountains. They are an important food source for many birds and fish, and some are cultured and harvested for fish food in many regions. There are 300 species spread across 8 families.

==Taxonomy==

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width:80%;"
|+ Fairy Shrimp Taxonomy
|-
|
! scope="row" | Kingdom
! scope="row" | Phylum
! scope="row" | Subphylum
! scope="row" | Class
! scope="row" | Subclass
! scope="row" | Order
|-
! scope="col" | Classification
| Animalia
| Arthropoda
| Crustacea
| Branchiopoda
| Sarsostraca
| Anostraca
|}

==Description==

A fairy shrimp's body is typically elongated and divided into three distinct parts: head, abdomen, and thorax. The whole animal can measure anywhere from .25 - 1 inch long (6-25 millimeters), however some species may not reach sexual maturity until they are 2 inches (50mm) long with the ability to grow up to almost 7 inches (170 mm)[1]. Fairy shrimp possess a thin but flexible exoskeleton that unlike other [[arthropods]] does not have a carapace (an upper section of exoskeleton found in many groups of [[animals]]) [1].

[[File: Fairy Shrimp Model.gif|thumb|A model showing the separate sections of a fairy shrimp; e sections denote the head, while h and i sections represent the thorax and abdomen.]]

===Head===
The head of fairy shrimp are distinct from the thorax in that the head possesses two compound eyes and then two separate pairs of antennae. The shape of the second pair of antennae differ between males and females of the species; the males second pair of antennae are enlarged and specialized (instead of long and cylindrical) in order to be able to better hold females during mating [7].

===Thorax and Abdomen===
Most members of this order have a thorax with 13 segments with the exception of ''Polyartemiella'' and ''Polyartemia'' which possess 19 and 21 segments respectively. All segments but the last two are similar in that they have a pair of flattened leaf-like appendages [1]. The last two segments of the body are fused together and the appendages are then specialized for sexual reproduction. Most fairy shrimp reproduce sexually, however a few reproduce by parthenogenesis. The abdomen is comprised of 6 segments without appendages, and a telson, which bears two flattened cercopods.

==Ecology==

Fairy shrimp inhabit inland waters including: vernal ponds, salt lakes, and lakes at high altitudes or latitudes. Due to their relatively large size and slow means of locomotion, Anostracans are easy prey for predatory fish and waterfowl [2]. This susceptibility to predation is the reason why they are restricted to areas with a lower quantity of predators.

[[File: Upside Down Fairy Shrimp.jpg|thumb| A Fairy Shrimp displaying its "upside-down" swimming method.]]

Anostracans swim gracefully by moving their phyllopodia which are connected to their body segments. When swimming, fairy shrimp will have their ventral side facing upward, which is why it is said that they are "swimming upside-down" [3]. While swimming they filter food indiscriminately from the water, and also scrape algae and other organic materials from solid surfaces. To do this, they turn to have their ventral side against the food surface [5].

Fairy shrimp have the ability to enter diapause, which is a state of biological dormancy where growth and metabolism are arrested, as an egg (or cyst) [4]. This is an especially important biological trait because it assists in both species' dispersal and overcoming adverse environmental conditions. Once a Fairy shrimp becomes dormant, these cysts can withstand conditions as harsh and diverse as droughts, frosts, hypersalinity, complete desiccation, exposure to UV radiation and even the vacuum of space. Diapause is also the best way for the fairy shrimp to colonize new habitats—facilitated by a variety of conditions including wind, predators, and currents as the adults are unable to leave the freshwater system [4].

==Feeding==
Different anostraca species eat different substances which varies from algae, plankton and organic particles from the water. Most anostracans feed on algae by scraping hard algae covered surfaces with their legs which then makes the algae more accessible to feed on. They also use their legs to filter feed organic particles from the water.

==Environmental Impact==
[[File: Fairy Shrimp Food.jpg|thumb| Fairy shrimp are often sold as a food product for marine life and aquaculture.]]

Members of this order, most notably brine shrimp, are used as food for fish and other [[organisms]] in aquaria and aquaculture. In natural environments they are also eaten by birds, water boatmen, fishes and other crustaceans. Their drought-resistant eggs are collected from lakeshores and then stored and transported dry, after transportation they hatch readily when submerged in salt water. This is a multimillion-dollar industry centered in the Great Salt Lake in Utah and San Francisco Bay in California; adults are collected from Mono Lake and transported frozen [6].

==[[Diversity]]==
Of the four orders of Branchiopoda, Anostraca has the widest diversity range. There are approximately 313 species in it, arranged into 26 genera and eight families:
* Artemiidae – 1 genus, 8 species
* Branchinectidae – 1 genus, 45 species
* Branchipodidae – 5 genera, 35 species
* Chirocephalidae – 9 genera, 81 species
* Parartemiidae – 1 genus, 18 species
* Streptocephalidae – 1 genus, 56 species
* Tanymastigidae – 2 genera, 8 species
* Thamnocephalidae – 6 genera, 62 species

==References==
[1] Peter H. H. Weekers; Gopal Murugan; Jacques R. Vanfleteren; Denton Belk; Henri J. Dumont (2002). "Phylogenetic analysis of anostracans (Branchiopoda: Anostraca) inferred from nuclear 18S ribosomal DNA (18S rDNA) sequences" Pg. 535–544. doi:10.1016/S1055-7903(02)00289-0. PMID 12450757.

[2] Vernal Pool Fairy Shrimp. National Wildlife Federation. (n.d.). Retrieved May 10, 2022, from https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Invertebrates/Vernal-Pool-Fairy-Shrimp

[3] “Fairy Shrimp.” 2022. Fairy Shrimp | Merced [[Vernal Pools]] & Grassland Reserve. Accessed May 10. https://vernalpools.ucmerced.edu/ecosystem/reserve-fairy-shrimp.

[4] Fryer, Geoffrey (1996-03-01). "Diapause, a potent force in the evolution of freshwater crustaceans". Hydrobiologia. 320 (1–3): 1–14. doi:10.1007/bf00016800

[5] Denton Belk (2007). "Branchiopoda". In Sol Felty Light; James T. Carlton (eds.). The Light and Smith Manual: Intertidal [[Invertebrates]] from Central California to Oregon (4th ed.). University of California Press. pp. 414–417. ISBN 978-0-520-23939-5.

[6] J. M. Melack (2009). "Saline and soda lakes". In Sven Erik Jørgensen (ed.). Ecosystem [[Ecology]]. Academic Press. pp. 380–384. ISBN 978-0-444-53466-8.

[7] William David Williams (1980). "Arachnids and Crustaceans". Australian Freshwater Life: the Invertebrates of Australian Inland Waters (2nd ed.). Palgrave Macmillan Australia. pp. 118–184. ISBN 978-0-333-29894-7

[8] The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Brine Shrimp | Crustacean.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 2019, www.britannica.com/animal/brine-shrimp.

[9] Luc Brendonck; D. Christopher Rogers; Jorgen Olesen; Stephen Weeks; Walter R. Hoch (2008). "Global diversity of large branchiopods (Crustacea: Branchiopoda) in freshwater". In Estelle V. Balian; Christian Lévêque; Hendrik Segers; Koen Martens (eds.). Freshwater Animal Diversity Assessment. Developments in Hydrobiology 198. pp. 167–176. doi:10.1007/s10750-007-9119-9. ISBN 978-1-4020-8258-0. S2CID 46608816. Reprinted from Hydrobiologia, Volume 595

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