OBSERVATIONS ON THE COEXISTENCE OF FRESH AND SALTWATER INVERTEBRATES IN AN INLAND SALTWORKS

Abstract

The fauna of three excavated trenches in the floor of the dry salt-pan in the Brandfort district of the Orange Free State was investigated. Two were found to contain typical saline water invertebrate fauna such as Artemia sp. and the saltwater rotifer Brachionus plicatilis and were without vegetation, while the third supported dense stands of Ruppia maritima, the salt water rotifer Brachionus plicatilis and a variety of freshwater macro-invertebrates. We concluded that certain freshwater macro-invertebrates are able to tolerate saline water, and that this would give them a competitive advantage over stenohaline invertebrates in semi-arid and arid areas where a range of salinities occur within and among the endorheic pans in the region.