Podonidae Mordukhai-Boltovskoi, 1968

Soesbergen, Martin & Sinkeldam, Jos, 2019, An annotated checklist of the Branchiopoda (Crustacea) of the Dutch Caribbean islands, Zootaxa 4701 (1), pp. 25-34 : 29-30

Family Podonidae Mordukhai-Boltovskoi, 1968

Evadne tergestina Claus, 1864 . This is a common species in coastal and pelagic waters of the Caribbean Sea ( Della Groce & Angelino 1987). Recorded in Jamaica ( Lue & Webber 2014), Cuba ( Elías-Gutiérrez & Varela 2009) and the Colombian coast ( Franco-Herrera et al. 2006). It is also believed to be present in the seas around the Dutch Caribbean.

An overview of all taxa found on the islands is given ( Table 1 ). No species are known in St. Eustasius and Saba and only two large branchiopods are known in Curaçao. Bonaire is the most species rich, with ten.

The collected data on salinity, conductivity, pH, temperature and oxygen are summarized ( Table 2 ). The mean, minimum, and maximum values are given. Great differences in salinity and conductivity are present between the lakes. Fresh Pond, as the name tells, is the freshest, with salinity of less than four (oligo-mesohaline). Fresh Pond is mostly dominated by cyanobacteria, primarily Microcystis . Great Salt Pond is polyhaline and Little Bay Pond is mesohaline. Neither are dominated by cyanobacteria.

M. cf. micrura and C. rigaudi are found in Fresh Pond North and Fresh Pond South. They are absent in Great Salt Pond and Little Bay Pond. Salinity in Little Bay Pond was relative high (6.6–8.9) in September and November 2003. From December 2003 onwards salinity was between 1.6 and 4.0.