The Threatened Vernal Pool Fairy Shrimp

Don't Let Fairy Shrimp Become a Fairy Tale

Source: http://www.pe.com/articles/shrimp-609790-fairy-pools.html

 By: Clay Boswell

Organism Description and Ecology

Source: http://www.ct.gov/deep/cwp/view.asp?a=2720&q=514222&deepNav_GID=1907

The Vernal Pool Fairy Shrimp (Branchinecta lynchi) is a translucent freshwater crustaceans about an inch in length. They have two antennae and eleven appendages used for swimming, feeding, and breathing. Very slow moving, they swim on their backs and feed on unicellular algae and plankton. They have short life cycles as they inhabit seasonal vernal pools. Vernal pools are seasonal wetland areas that occur in Mediterranean climates that form in the winter months and dry up in the spring. In the winters, depressions in the grown fill up with water and the already placed eggs hatch. It takes 41 days for a fairy shrimp to fully develop in maturity. They must reproduce and lay eggs before dry season, typically starting in May, and the pool dries up causing them to die. These hardy eggs are called cysts and lay at the bottom of the dried pool for the duration of the dry season. Animals who eat or trample across the eggs are actually beneficial them because they are spread and deposited in new potential pools. The fairy shrimp’s main predator are water fowl who migrate each year. 

Geographic and Population Changes

Fairy Shrimp are endemic to California and southern Oregon and have the largest geographic range among listed vernal pool crustaceans. The large range consists of 32 documented populations. Vernal pools are becoming increasingly more fragmented which is effecting the ability of fairy shrimp to maintain a viable population in more isolated pools. 

   

Source: http://interwork.sdsu.edu/fire/resources/VernalPools.htm

Date of Listing and Type of Listing

The vernal pool fairy shrimp was listed as threatened on the September of 1996 by the federal government for the whole population stretching from Oregon to California.

Main Threats

The main threats effecting the prosperity in vernal pool fairy shrimp are habitat loss and fragmentation which causes population loss and can lead to the extinction of more isolated populations The development of urban, suburban, and agricultural areas is a main factor causing the degradation and destruction of vernal pools. Vernal pool hydrology is also being altered by agricultural runoff and the installment of roads, trails, canals, and ditches, which causes a blockage of the flow into or out of the vernal pool complex, causing the decreased fitness of fairy shrimp. 

Recovery Plan

On March 7, 2006, a recovery plan was put in place for the ecosystems of vernal pools in California and southern Oregon. Its goals are to de-list certain vernal pool organisms and ensure the conservation of threatened vernal pool organisms, including the fairy shrimp. There are three implemented strategies . The Western Riverside county vernal pool has a strategy for the Transverse Management area to secure vernal pool habitats and the watersheds associated to them, return populations to their historic numbers, and managing the species in the associated vernal pools. The second strategy is for the Santa Barbara vernal pool region, which is for all of southern California. It aims to protect the habitats containing vernal pool fairy shrimp, especially in the LA and Ventura counties where it is very urban. The third and final plan is the Klamath Mountain vernal pool region, where a site-specific approach is taken. The common plan for each strategy listed is to reintroduce fairy shrimp to vernal pool locations and soil types in which extirpation has been documented.  

For complete recovery plan, visit: 

http://ecos.fws.gov/docs/recovery_plans/2006/060307_docs/doc534.pdf 

Call to Action

 Although vernal pool fairy shrimp are only listed as threatened and are very small creatures that you may not deem significant, it is very important to not disregard them as not important enough to take action and have the awareness in your own life to be mindful of your local vernal pools in which they inhabit. The little creature are very important for the ecosystem. Migratory waterfowl stop at these vernal pools on there long journeys from South America to Alaska and depend on them the give them the fuel to make it. Fairy shrimp also serve as the "custodians of the pool," keeping them clean. Always be mindful about what you put down the drain and what you pour on the ground outside, you never know just how much damage can result to your local wetland vernal pool areas, where the runoff collects. Chemicals such as paint thinner, furniture polish, antifreeze, and other hazardous materials must be disposed of properly to protect the very delicate ecosystems of vernal pools and, more specifically, the always charismatic fairy shrimp.  

Resources

Randolph, James. "Can't Live Without Em: Vernal Pool Fairy Shrimp." Defenders of Wildlife. July 14, 2011. 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office. "Vernal Pool Fairy Shrimp (Branchinecta lynchi) 5-Year Review: Summary and Evaluation." U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service website: http://www.fws.gov/cno/es/images/Graphics/VPFS_5-yr%20review%20CNO%20FINAL%2027Sept07.pdf

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. "What You Can Do to Help Wildlife and Plants." U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service website: http://www.fws.gov/sacramento/es_kids/Vernal-Pool-Fairy-Shrimp/Documents/What_You_Can_Do.pdf