PHYLOGENETIC ANALYSIS OF EXOTIC INVASIVE SPECIES OF THE BRINE SHRIMP ARTEMIA LEACH, 1819 (BRANCHIOPODA, ANOSTRACA) IN AL WATHBA WETLAND RESERVE (UAE; ABU DHABI)

The taxonomic identity of an unknown Artemia population inhabiting the Al Wathba Wetland Reserve in Abu Dhabi, U.A.E., was determined using phylogenetic analysis of the mitochondrial marker Cytochrome Oxidase Subunit 1 (COI). The results showed that the examined population belongs to an exotic invasive species, Artemia franciscana. Based on the distribution pattern of haplotypes, the studied population could possibly have originated from that inhabiting the Great Salt Lake (Utah, U.S.A.).