Life Sciences Commons^™

The Impact Of Sample Processing And Media Chemistry On The Culturable Diversity Of Bacteria Isolated From A Cave, Katey E. Bender, Katelyn Glover, Alexander Archey, Hazel A. Barton

International Journal of Speleology

Although molecular approaches can identify members of microbial communities in the environment, genomic information does not necessarily correlate with environmental phenotype. Understanding functional roles can be done by cultivating representative species, yet the culturablility of bacteria from caves remains low, at 0.02%, limiting our understanding of microbial community interactions and processes. We have investigated several factors influencing culturability of bacteria from a single sample location in Maxwelton Sink Cave, WV, USA. Extended incubation of inoculated plates showed a significant increase in colony counts from two to four weeks, indicating that extended incubations increase culturability. There were no significant differences in …

Drivers Of Ant Composition, Richness, And Trophic Guilds In Neotropical Iron Ore Cavities, Rodrigo A. Castro-Souza, Thais G. Pellegrini, Marconi Souza-Silva, Rodrigo L. Ferreira

International Journal of Speleology

Subterranean habitats may be considered limiting for animal colonization, especially for ants, due to permanent darkness and mainly because of oligotrophic conditions. While not as deep as limestone caves, iron ore caves and other subterranean habitats may be more available for colonization because of their shallower depth. We use the richness and composition of ants to assess how differences in habitat structure affect the biodiversity and ecosystem function between cavities and surrounding epigean landscapes. We predicted that the distribution of ants would be different because of the variation in habitat structure and cavity conditions may act as a filter for …

Modelling The Future Spread Of Native And Alien Congeneric Species In Subterranean Habitats — The Case Of Meta Cave-Dwelling Spiders In Great Britain, Stefano Mammola

International Journal of Speleology

The threshold zones between the epigean and hypogean environments are generally characterized by less harsh ecological conditions than deep subterranean habitats, and usually support a greater abundance of organisms. Transitional habitats such as these should be more easily colonised by alien species, especially by those possessing exaptations suitable for subterranean life. In spite of this, few studies have been conducted to unravel the ecological dynamics between native and alien species in the habitats situated at the epigean/hypogean interface. A unique test case is offered by cave-dwelling Meta orb-weaver spiders in Great Britain (Araneae: Tetragnathidae). One species, M. menardi, is …

Bioaccumulation Of Metallic Trace Elements And Antioxidant Enzyme Activities In Apfelbeckia Insculpta (L. Koch, 1867) (Diplopoda: Callipodida) From The Cave Hadži-Prodanova Pećina (Serbia), Jelena Vranković, Slavica Borković-Mitić, Bojan Ilić, Milanka Radulović, Slaviša Milošević, Slobodan Makarov, Bojan Mitić

International Journal of Speleology

The concentration of 10 metallic trace elements or MTE (Cu, Fe, Zn, Mn, As, Hg, Pb, Cd, Ni, and Cr) was measured in specimens of the troglophilic millipede Apfelbeckia insculpta (L. Koch, 1867) and sediment of the cave Hadži-Prodanova Pećina in western Serbia. Some MTE, like Fe and Mn, displayed much higher concentrations compared to other elements, both in the sediment and in the body of A. insculpta. On the other hand, estimation of the bioaccumulation factor (BAF) in both males and females of A. insculpta showed values greater than 1 for xenobiotic elements compared to those that are essential. …

Cyanobacteria, Algae And Microfungi Present In Biofilm From Božana Cave (Serbia), Slađana Popović, Gordana Subakov Simić, Miloš Stupar, Nikola Unković, Dragana Predojević, Jelena Jovanović, Milica Ljaljević Grbić

International Journal of Speleology

Phototrophic microorganisms (cyanobacteria and algae) and microfungi, were identified from biofilm on the walls of the entrance of BožanaCavein west Serbia. Temperature, relative humidity and light intensity were measured, and chlorophyll a content determined. Light intensity differed from the entrance inwards. However, Chl a content was not proportional to light intensity, instead it was positively correlated to biofilm weight. Biofilm samples from two sites were also observed using a scanning electron microscope. Coccoid forms of cyanobacteria were abundant at the sampling site with the lowest light intensity, while members of the order Nostocales were predominant at the sampling site with …

Diatom Flora In Subterranean Ecosystems: A Review, Elisa Falasco, Luc Ector, Marco Isaia, Carlos E. Wetzel, Lucien Hoffmann, Francesca Bona

International Journal of Speleology

In scarcity of light and primary producers, subterranean ecosystems are generally extremely oligotrophic habitats, receiving poor supplies of degradable organic matter from the surface. Human direct impacts on cave ecosystems mainly derive from intensive tourism and recreational caving, causing important alterations to the whole subterranean environment. In particular, artificial lighting systems in show caves support the growth of autotrophic organisms (the so-called lampenflora), mainly composed of cyanobacteria, diatoms, chlorophytes, mosses and ferns producing exocellular polymeric substances (EPSs) made of polysaccharides, proteins, lipids and nucleic acids. This anionic EPSs matrix mediates to the intercellular communications and participates to the chemical …

Diversity Of Cultivable Bacteria Involved In The Formation Of Macroscopic Microbial Colonies (Cave Silver) On The Walls Of A Cave In Slovenia, Blagajana Herzog Velikonja, Rok Tkavc, Lejla Pašić

International Journal of Speleology

Karstic caves often support white, yellow, grey or pink microbial colonies that are termed ‘cave silver’ by speleologists. Using various sample pre-treatments and culture media, a wide variety of bacteria associated with these colonies were recovered from a cave in Slovenia, Pajsarjeva jama. Decreasing the inoculum size resulted in significant increases in viable counts, while pre-treatments had the opposite effect with the exception of microwave irradiation. While all growth media yielded viable counts, the maximal counts were observed on a low-nutrient TWA medium.

Based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence of OTU representatives, the majority of the 80 isolates examined …

Mycological Study For A Management Plan Of A Neotropical Show Cave (Brazil), Erika Linzi Silva Taylor, Maria Aparecida De Resende Stoianoff, Rodrigo Lopes Ferreira

International Journal of Speleology

Caves are stable environments with characteristics favoring the development of microorganisms. The allocthonous input of organic matter and microbes into the warm Neotropical caves may favor the development of filamentous fungi, including pathogenic species. Histoplasma capsulatum is a pathogenic species commonly found in caves and associated with bat and bird guano. Many Brazilian caves have been historically visited due to scenic and religious tourism. The objective of this study was to perform a microbiology study for a management plan of a show cave in Brazil, focusing on the presence and distribution of pathogenic and opportunistic fungi in the cave. Statistics …

A World Review Of Fungi, Yeasts, And Slime Molds In Caves, Karen J. Vanderwolf, David Malloch, Donald F. Mcalpine, Graham J. Forbes

International Journal of Speleology

We provide a review of fungi, yeasts, and slime molds that have been found in natural solution caves and mines worldwide. Such habitats provide frequent roost sites for bats, and in eastern North America the environmental conditions that support white-nose syndrome, a lethal fungal disease currently devastating bat populations. A list of 1029 species of fungi, slime moulds, and yeasts in 518 genera have been documented from caves and mines worldwide in 225 articles. Ascomycota dominate the cave environment. Most research has been conducted in temperate climates, especially in Europe. A mean of 17.9±24.4SD fungal species are reported per study. …