Chinese Journal of Oceanology and Limnology Vol. 33 No. 6, P. 1451-1460, 2015 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00343-015-4371-8 Intentional introduction of Artemia sinica (Anostraca) in the high-altitude Tibetan lake Dangxiong Co: the new population and consequences for the environment and for humans* JIA Qinxian (贾沁贤) 1 , Elena ANUFRIIEVA 1, 2 , LIU Xifang (刘喜方) 1 , KONG Fanjing (孔凡晶) 1 , Nickolai SHADRIN 1, 2, ** 1 MLR Key Laboratory of Saline Lake Resources and Environments , Institute of Mineral Resources , Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences (CAGS ), Beijing 100037 , China 2 Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas , Sevastopol 299011 , Russia Received Dec. 12, 2014; accepted in principle Mar. 28, 2015; accepted for publication May 8, 2015 © Chinese Society for Oceanology and Limnology, Science Press, and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2015 Abstract The imbalance between supply and demand of Artemia cysts in China and around the world is increasing now. Salt lakes in Tibet may contribute to the solution of the problem. In Northern Tibet there are 26 saline lakes whose salinity and temperature may support Artemia survival at an altitude of 4 000–5 100 m. We found Artemia in 15 of these lakes. The saline lakes with Artemia populations mainly belong to the shallow basin lakes, and the majority of these lakes are small in area. The total area of lakes without Artemia is more than 1 000 km 2 . Lake Dangxiong Co (Co means lake in Tibet) was chosen for the intentional introduction of Artemia sinica. In 2004, 850 g of A. sinica cysts, originating from Qinghai, were introduced in the lake. Surveys in 2006–2014 showed that the average abundance of Artemia adults in the lake gradually increased from 20 ind./m 3 in 2006 to 1950 ind./m 3 in 2013. We assume that two subpopulations of A. sinica, separated by depth, may exist in the lake. The new Artemia population caused an increase in the number of species of phytoplankton and heterotrophic protozoa with a decrease of their total abundance. Water transparency also increased. Dominance in phytoplankton passed from cyanobacteria to diatoms. Changes occurred not only in the lake ecosystem; the number of water birds using the lakes also dramatically increased. Preliminary calculations showed that is it possible to harvest at least about 150 t cysts per year from the lake as well as 3.2 thousand tons of frozen or 350 t of dried biomass of adult Artemia. Keyword: Artemia; phytoplankton; water birds; Tibet; alien species 1 INTRODUCTION The human population is projected to reach 9 200 million by 2050 (UN, 2007). A fundamental question for science is whether it is possible to increase food production to meet the demands of a human population of that magnitude; it is possible only by increasing aquaculture production (Duarte et al., 2009). Cultivation of larvae is a bottleneck in the cultivation of different commercial organisms. The supply of live food organisms as feed for developing larvae is the weak link in the development of larviculture. Artemia nauplii are the main living food for fish larvae now (Lavens and Sorgeloos, 2000). Fluctuations in the harvest of Artemia cysts may lead to a rise or fall of production in the aquaculture industry; a sharp decrease in a harvest of cysts from Great Salt Lake (USA), a leading producer of Artemia cysts, in 1994 and 1998 had a pronounced negative effect on aquaculture industry worldwide (Lavens and Sorgeloos, 2000). Additionally, biomass of adult Artemia may serve as good protein food for humans and as a resource for the cosmetic industry. China is one of the countries richest in Artemia locations. To date, at least 274 Artemia sites have been recorded from China, both of continental and * Supported by the Special Fund for Public Welfare Land and Resources (No. 201011001-4) and the Project of China Geological Survey (No. 1212011120982) ** Corresponding author: snickolai@yandex.ru