A Preliminary Survey on the Planktonic Biota in a Hypersaline Pond of Messolonghi Saltworks (W. Greece)

During a survey in 2015, an impressive assemblage of organisms was found hypersaline pond the Messolonghi saltworks. The salinity ranged between 50 and 180 ppt, that were fell into categories Cyanobacteria (17 species), Chlorophytes (4 Diatoms (23 Dinoflagellates (1 Protozoa (40 Rotifers (8 Copepods Artemia sp., one nematode Alternaria sp. (Fungi). Fabrea salina most prominent protist among all samples salinities. This ciliate has potential to be live food candidate for marine fish larvae. Asteromonas gracilis proved sturdy microalga, performing well broad spectrum culture Most specimens identified genus level only. Based on their morphology, as there are no relevant records Greece, is possibility some either new species or strikingly different strains certain recorded elsewhere.