Bacteriological flora of the brine shrimp (Artemia franciscana) from a hypersaline pond in San Francisco Bay, California

Abstract Samples of subadult to adult brine shrimp ( Artemia franciscana ) were obtained from salt pond N-4 at the San Francisco Bay, National Wildlife Refuge, California, over the course of two 6-month periods in 1992 and 1993. The bacteriological flora of brine shrimp were identified using the Biolog GN Microplate system (Biolog, Inc., Hayward, CA). Of the bacteria identified, only normal enteric and marine flora was found, none of which serve as primary pathogens. These data indicate that the bacterial flora found in brine shrimp changes with fluctuations in salinity levels. At the higher salinity levels only the more halophilic bacteria, such as Vibrio spp. were found, while at lower salinity levels a progressively larger number of enteric flora was identified.