From NoTricksZone

By Kenneth Richard

“Today there is no evidence that B. Gaini lives in permanently frozen lakes.” – Roman et al., 2024

According to a new study (Roman et al., 2024), fairy shrimp Branchinecta gaini occupied the Antarctic Peninsula’s seasonally ice-free Monolithic Lake throughout much of the last 2000 years.

There were “longer ice-free periods during the Antarctic summer through the last 2000 years” compared to the modern period. This Antarctic warmth and enhanced biological activity – which is also evident during the Mid-Holocene (7000 to 2,500 years ago) – coincided with what has come to be known as the “greening of Antarctica.”

Consequent to these warmer periods, crustaceans like fairy shrimp were able to swim in Antarctic lakes. Their numbers have historically been reduced or eliminated only during cooling periods.

Today there are no Branchinecta gaini occupying Monolithic Lake. It is permanent ice year-round.