Re: [Killietalk] RE: brine shrimp "cysts"

["Bill Shenefelt" <william_shenefelt at verizon.net>]

Cyst refers to the shell.  Many organisms during a stage of development form
or have such a protective shell.  This is not all that uncommon among some
species which bear live and lay "eggs" where the eggs are referred to as
cysts.  Besides brine shrimp, daphnia bear live young yet when winter
approaches lay "eggs" which are cysts, enduring the cold until spring when
it warms.  For medical health purposes with some parasites or even just
fluid collections the definition is: A closed sac or pouch which generally
contains semisolids, fluids, or gases, that may be a normal or abnormal part
of the body.
For reproductive organisms the cyst is just a dormant form for either a
stage of the species:
  1.. A dormant form assumed by some bacteria, reproductive bodies, or
embryos. The word can refer to either the structure or the stage of resting.
Bill Shenefelt
http://shene.killi.net
Dave wrote:
> Artemia, or, as most of you know, brine shrimp hatch from cysts (a
misnomer
> when we call them eggs).  Brine shrimp produce cysts when the water
> temperature drops below about 50oF or 10oC, at higher temperatures shrimp
> produce live young.


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