Hydrological Study - Sovereign Base Areas Cyprus

Consulting CYPRUS
adaptation to the variable temporary habitat (Brendonck 1996). Hatching is generally
spread over several days or even weeks even under favorable environmental
conditions and not all cysts will terminate the diapauses (Hulsmans et al. 2006).
Live specimens (sweep samples with a standard hand net, mesh 1mm) were
collected at all visited localities in the Lake, except where the flamingos were actively
feeding: the birds totally depleted the fairy shrimp populations at the feeding patches.
Only one single specimen of Phallocryptus was captured in dozens of sweeps at the
feeding patches.
Individuals are kept alive in aquaria (Nicosia) in order to produce a cyst bank for
future physiological and taxonomical studies and to record their longevity, at least in
vitro. Additionally, an underwater high definition camera (GoPro) was used to record
abundances and behaviour of P. spinosa at two ponds of the Lake (Fig. 25).
The advantage of such method is the non-destructive evaluation of the populations.
A limitation is the lack of a scale to measure the size of the individuals. However, the
proportion of sexes (Fig. 25B), aggregations (Fig. 25C) and behaviour (Fig. 25D) are
relatively easy to study. Densities can be determined if the observations are made at
a specific place (e.g. camera stationed in one point and records made by time) or
following a pre-determined distance and time.
At one site (#19, Table 2), bottom sediments were collected with a hand held grab
(15x20cm square frame) at the feeding patch of a large group of flamingos. The
sediments were sorted to determine the presence and abundance of P. spinosa cysts.
Only three cysts were found, indicating how efficient is the flamingos’ feeding
mechanisms in removing particles (e.g. cysts, seeds) together with organic matter as
biofilm and also mud.
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