Zooplankton play a crucial role in aquatic food chains and contain many species, which could be bioindicators of water quality and ecosystem health. The ecological impacts of eutrophication on zooplankton composition in freshwater lakes have recently gained wide interest. Geographic location and water-body size influence zooplankton diversity in freshwaters; meanwhile, less is known about the composition and dynamic of the zooplankton community and their relationship with the trophic status in artificial water in semi-arid areas. The present study aimed to assess the physical–chemical parameters and to document the seasonal distribution of zooplankton species and their relationship with environmental factors and trophic state in the artificial freshwater lake JUST, in a semi-arid area. The high concentrations of nutrients and the trophic level index (TLI) classified the lake as eutrophic–hypertrophic. The zooplankton in the JUST lake were composed of twenty-six species, with eleven Rotifera, ten Copepoda, and five Cladocera. Copepoda was numerically the most abundant taxon, accounting for 64% of the total zooplankton abundance, in both seasons. However, the second most abundant taxon in summer was Rotifera (28.26%) while in winter it was Cladocera (25.88%). The community structure seemed to be influenced, most likely, by trophic state, phytoplankton abundance, water temperature, dissolved oxygen, and nutrient loading. The zooplankton were largely dominated by bioindicator species of high trophic levels. Zooplankton could be used as a tool to monitor the trophic state of the lake. For sustainable development, the introduction of phytoplanktivorous, aquaculture species, such as carp and koi, will strengthen the top-down control of the phytoplankton concentration, leading to a reduced trophic state.

Black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) can convert organic materials into useful biomass, but substrate suitability depends on both biomass yield and composition. This study evaluated partial and complete replacement of commercial chicken feed with whole sesame seeds during a 15-day feeding trial. Six treatments contained 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, or 100% sesame seeds, with three independent rearing pots per treatment and 200 larvae per pot. Final individual fresh weight was highest at 10% sesame inclusion (0.269 ± 0.008 g), although it did not differ significantly from the control. Total fresh and dry harvested biomass did not differ significantly among the 0–40% treatments. Complete replacement reduced final individual fresh weight to 0.144 ± 0.028 g and the reported fresh-biomass bioconversion rate to 8.8 ± 2.0%. Survival did not differ significantly among treatments. Larvae fed only sesame seeds had the highest fat concentration (51.7 ± 1.2% of dry matter) and lower nitrogen and crude protein concentrations (5.3 ± 0.2% and 30.4 ± 1.1% of dry matter, respectively). Thus, partial sesame inclusion maintained harvested biomass under the conditions tested, whereas sesame-only feeding shifted larval composition toward fat while reducing biomass production. The results do not establish an optimal inclusion level or performance with actual sesame-containing food-processing residues.