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The Nitrogen Dynamics Of Deer Cave, Sarawak, And The Role Of Bat Caves As Biogeochemical Sinks In Tropical Moist Forests., Joyce Lundberg, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Guy Van Rentergem Nov 2022

The Nitrogen Dynamics Of Deer Cave, Sarawak, And The Role Of Bat Caves As Biogeochemical Sinks In Tropical Moist Forests., Joyce Lundberg, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Guy Van Rentergem

International Journal of Speleology

A better understanding of the role of bat caves as nitrogen sinks in tropical moist forest ecosystems can be expected to shed light on regional and spatial variability in nutrient recycling studies. We measured the nitrogen flux (in air and water) associated with a very large Chaerephon plicata bat colony in Deer Cave, Borneo, in the process generating a new, quantitative, estimate of the total bat population (774,828 ±48,320), and the first detailed modelling of an ammonia plume in a cave. Long-term storage of N does not occur in this wet cave. Our final budget numbers indicate that, of the …


Guano-Derived Morphologies And Associated Minerals Found In Cova De Sa Guitarreta, Llucmajor, Balearics, Antonio Merino Juncadella, Joan J. Fornós, Antoni Mulet, Joaquín Ginés Jan 2022

Guano-Derived Morphologies And Associated Minerals Found In Cova De Sa Guitarreta, Llucmajor, Balearics, Antonio Merino Juncadella, Joan J. Fornós, Antoni Mulet, Joaquín Ginés

International Journal of Speleology

Cova de sa Guitarreta is located in the southern part of Mallorca Island (western Mediterranean). It was formed presumably by hypogenic processes in Upper Miocene reefal calcarenites. The cave hosts an important breeding colony of bats during the end of spring and early summer. Its microclimate is influenced by the presence of a thermal phreatic water table (27.7ºC) as well as by bat populations remaining in the cave along the reproductive season. The morphological bat-related features include bat claws and thumb marks scratches, together with several morphologies linked to bat excreta and aggressive leachates from guano. From the mineralogical point …


Geochronological Implications Of 210Pb And 137Cs Mobility In Cave Guano Deposits, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Joyce Lundberg Aug 2021

Geochronological Implications Of 210Pb And 137Cs Mobility In Cave Guano Deposits, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Joyce Lundberg

International Journal of Speleology

Some recent publications on the paleo- and historical environmental interpretation of bat guano sequences have relied on 210Pb and 137Cs distribution to establish age-depth models, even when these are at odds with radiocarbon models in the lower parts of the sequence. Here, we present both field and laboratory evidence for the unpredictable mobility of lead and cesium in decomposing bat guano deposits. We suggest that 210Pb- and 137Cs-based chronologies of bat guano deposits should only be used when independently supported, for example, by a robust radiocarbon age-depth model.


Ice And Guano Deposits In El Malpais Lava Tubes: Potential Paleoclimate Archives For The Southwest United States, Dylan S. Parmenter Oct 2018

Ice And Guano Deposits In El Malpais Lava Tubes: Potential Paleoclimate Archives For The Southwest United States, Dylan S. Parmenter

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Three ice cores and one guano core were obtained from lava tubes in El Malpais National Monument, New Mexico, in the Southwest United States. A large hiatus in the Bat Cave guano record, resulting from mining activities in the early 1900's, left us with only ~50 years of data (from AD 1955-2006) to use in analysis. 13C values in guano (-18 to -11.6‰) primarily fall within the range of C4 plants, and likely indicate a tendency of Tadarida brasiliensis to feed on insects over grasslands to the North or South of the park. Variations in 13C values for this period …


A Bat-Guano-Derived Δ15N And Δ13C Record Of Paleoenvironmental Change: Zidită Cave, Romania, Daniel Martin Cleary Oct 2015

A Bat-Guano-Derived Δ15N And Δ13C Record Of Paleoenvironmental Change: Zidită Cave, Romania, Daniel Martin Cleary

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Because nitrogen isotopes are fractionated along the soil-plant-insect-bat-guano pathway, it may be possible to reconstruct environmental and climatic changes reflected in the nitrogen isotopic composition of guano. A 1.5-m core of bat guano from Zidită Cave (western Romania) provides a record of climatic and anthropogenic influence on the regional nitrogen cycle and paleoenvironmental controls on nitrogen transforming processes. Increasing and decreasing trends of nitrogen isotopic composition (δ15N values) correspond well with changes in the influence of farming practices, deforestation, and forest expansion. These influences likely had a significant effect on the openness of the nitrogen cycle, resulting in …


Revisiting Three Minerals From Cioclovina Cave (Romania), Bogdan P. Onac, Herta S. Effenberger, Nathan C. Collins, Joe B. Kearns, Radu C. Breban Jan 2011

Revisiting Three Minerals From Cioclovina Cave (Romania), Bogdan P. Onac, Herta S. Effenberger, Nathan C. Collins, Joe B. Kearns, Radu C. Breban

International Journal of Speleology

Cioclovina Cave in Romania’s Southern Carpathians is a world-renowned cave site for its paleontological, anthropological, and mineralogical (type locality of ardealite) findings. To date, over 25 mineral species have been documented, some unusual for a cave environment. This paper presents details on the occurrence of collinsite [Ca2(Mg,Fe2+)(PO4)2·2H2O], atacamite [Cu22+Cl(OH)3], and kröhnkite [Na2Cu2+(SO4)2·2H2O] based on single-crystal X-ray diffraction, electron microprobe, stable isotope analyses, and scanning electron microscope imaging. This is the first reported occurrence of kröhnkite …


Vashegyite From Gaura Cu Muscă Cave (Locvei Mountains, Romania): A New And Rare Phosphate Occurrence, Bogdan P. Onac, Luminiţa Zaharia, Joe Kearns, Daniel Veres Jan 2006

Vashegyite From Gaura Cu Muscă Cave (Locvei Mountains, Romania): A New And Rare Phosphate Occurrence, Bogdan P. Onac, Luminiţa Zaharia, Joe Kearns, Daniel Veres

International Journal of Speleology

This study investigated the occurrence of vashegyite from a guano-rich deposit located in the Gaura cu Muscă Cave, Romania. Analytical methods used include optical microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron-microscopy (SEM), inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES), thermal investigations and Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) analyses. Vashegyite occurs as friable, chalky white, irregular nodules of up to 2.5 cm in diameter, within a 15 cm thick sequence of organic and minerogenic sediments. The chemical structural formula is: (Al10.91Fe3+0.06Na0.1Ca0.02Mg0.08)Σ=11.17[(PO4)8.78(SiO4)0.056]Σ=8.83(OH) …


Guano Mining In Kenyan Lava Tunnel Caves, Jim W. Simons Jan 1998

Guano Mining In Kenyan Lava Tunnel Caves, Jim W. Simons

International Journal of Speleology

Commercial mining of bat guano for agricultural fertilizer only became possible in Kenya through discovery of major deposits in the lava tunnel caves of Mt. Suswa and the North Chyulu Hills in the early 1960’s. This paper provides historical information leading up to the guano mining, describes the cave deposits, outlines the mining under-takings, and provides information on the guano producing bats and insect faunas. The results of guano analyses, details of the tonnages extracted and sold to recipients between 1966 to 1984, and some benefits which resulted from its use on crops are given. A brief outline of attempts …