Nearshore and pelagic abundances of Artemia monica in Mono Lake,California

The spatial distribution and abundance of the brine shrimp, Artemia monica, in Mono Lake, California were determined during 1982 and 1983. Peak abundances of shrimp occur in midsummer and reach densities of 15–17 individuals l^-1 in the nearshore regions and 6–8 individuals 1^-1 in the pelagic region. The brine shrimp were non-uniformly distributed both vertically and horizontally. The coefficient of variation in shrimp abundance among stations within the nearshore region was similar to that found in the pelagic region. On two of the nine dates, nearshore densities were 3 to 4 times greater than those in the pelagic zone, and on average the brine shrimp appear to be slightly over-dispersed to the nearshore region. However, including nearshore abundances in lakewide estimates will usually result in a change of less than a 10%.