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ABSTRACT
Maximum reproduction rates (G = 0.7–0.8 day−1) of a wild type and two isolated clones of a local strain of Brachionus plicatilis were obtained at salinities of 4 and 10‰ Above optimum salinity, reproduction rates decreased by half for each 10‰ increase in salinity. Rotifer density depended on salinity and food concentration. An average density of 1500 rotifers m1−1 was obtained in cultures maintained at a salinity of 20‰ where rotifers were fed on Chlorella stigmatophora at a concentration adjusted to rotifer density. Rotifers transferred from lower (20‰ or 30‰) to higher salinities (30‰ or 40‰, respectively) reproduced at a rate which accorded with the salinity of their new environment. It is suggested that reliable production of B. plicatilis rotifers could be obtained by using mutants incapable of undergoing mixis, such as our clone N.R.E., in combination with cultures maintained at salinities lower than that of sea water (40‰).