Tadpole Shrimp and Temporary Pools
What are Tadpole shrimp?
Tadpole shrimp (order Notostraca) are crustaceans in the class Branchiopoda which also contains fairy shrimp (order Anostraca), Clam Shrimp and Cladocerans (water fleas). Tadpole shrimp are considered to be living fossils, with similar forms having existed since the Devonian.
How long do they live?
Tadpole shrimp (Triops sp.) only live a few months.
How do they survive in these pools?
When the pools dry out all their predators and competitors are killed off. Tadpole shrimp take advantage of these temporary pools by having a very rapid development, maturing from an egg to adulthood in just two to three weeks. A female Triops starts reproducing 10 days after hatching, and leaves hundreds of eggs in her lifetime. Utilising such an inhospitable and difficult habitat is believed to be one of the reasons why this group of animals has been able to survive for so many millions of years.
How long do they eggs survive?
Tadpole shrimp eggs are very durable and can survive up to an amazing 27 years.
What do they eat?
Tadpole shrimps are omnivorous feeders – they will eat small aquatic invertebrates, aquatic plants and sediment. They are also furious eaters, this is necessary to sustain their fast development; daily they have to eat about 40% of their body mass to sustain their rapid growth rate.
How do they get to another pool?
Birds landing in the temporary pool can pick up mud on their feet with cysts from algae and eggs from fairy shrimp and tadpole shrimp. These can start a new colony in a rocky pool far away.