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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Population Density, Habitat Dynamic And Aerial Survival Of Relict Cave Bivalves From Genus Congeria In The Dinaric Karst, Olga Jovanović Glavaš, Branko Jalžić, Helena Bilandžija Dec 2016

Population Density, Habitat Dynamic And Aerial Survival Of Relict Cave Bivalves From Genus Congeria In The Dinaric Karst, Olga Jovanović Glavaš, Branko Jalžić, Helena Bilandžija

International Journal of Speleology

Caves are some of the least-known ecosystems on Earth and long-term ecological studies and population size estimates are very rare. Genus Congeria is a Tertiary relict that comprises three species from Dinaric karst area; C. kusceri, C. jalzici and C. mulaomerovici, each with very limited distribution. They are the only known cave bivalves and in contrast to many other cave species, they form populations with high densities. We estimated that the population of C. kusceri in Jama u Predolcu is between 72,454 and 72,906 individuals. The highest density occurred between one and three meters depth, and reached maximum …


Characterization Of Antimicrobial Activity Of Culturable Bacteria Isolated From Krubera-Voronja Cave, Aiste Klusaite, Vida Vickackaite, Birute Vaitkeviciene, Rasa Karnickaite, Dominykas Bukelskis, Ieva Kieraite-Aleksandrova, Nomeda Kuisiene Oct 2016

Characterization Of Antimicrobial Activity Of Culturable Bacteria Isolated From Krubera-Voronja Cave, Aiste Klusaite, Vida Vickackaite, Birute Vaitkeviciene, Rasa Karnickaite, Dominykas Bukelskis, Ieva Kieraite-Aleksandrova, Nomeda Kuisiene

International Journal of Speleology

In the present study we aimed to perform the first analysis of antimicrobial activity of bacteria isolated from Krubera-Voronja Cave, with the main focus on their activity against Grampositive bacteria, including Gram-positive pathogens. Using five different media, in total 874 heterotrophic cultures were isolated from water and sediment samples collected in Krubera-Voronja Cave at a depth from 220 m to 1640 m. 14.0% of all isolates demonstrated antibacterial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative test microorganisms. Our results show that this percentage was not uniform; it increased with the sampling depth and was the highest in the lower part of the …


Atp Luminescence Assay As A Bioburden Estimator Of Biomass Accumulation In Caves, Janez Mulec, Andreea Oarga-Mulec Aug 2016

Atp Luminescence Assay As A Bioburden Estimator Of Biomass Accumulation In Caves, Janez Mulec, Andreea Oarga-Mulec

International Journal of Speleology

A commercially available adenosine triphosphate (ATP) detection system (Hygiena, USA), supported by cultivable microbial indicators, was used to estimate bioburden in different habitats in and outside show caves: air, water and solid surfaces. A strong positive correlation between ATP concentration expressed as Relative Light Units (RLU) and Colony-Forming-Units (CFU) was observed for swab samples from cave surfaces. In terms of ATP units, surfaces in a single cave system (Postojna Cave) varied considerably (240-1,258,800 RLU/ 20 cm2) and commonly exceeded the bioburden level of analogues on the surface (0-114,390 RLU/ 20 cm2). Cave sub-habitats were colonized by …


The Importance Of Ants In Cave Ecology, With New Records And Behavioral Observations Of Ants In Arizona Caves, Robert B. Pape Jun 2016

The Importance Of Ants In Cave Ecology, With New Records And Behavioral Observations Of Ants In Arizona Caves, Robert B. Pape

International Journal of Speleology

The importance of ants as elements in cave ecology has been mostly unrecognized. A global list of ant species recorded from caves, compiled from a review of existing literature, is presented. This paper also reviews what is currently known about ants occurring in Arizona (USA) caves. The diversity and distribution represented in these records suggests ants are relatively common cave visitors (trogloxenes). A general utilization of caves by ants within both temperate and tropical latitudes may be inferred from this combined evidence. Observations of ant behavior in Arizona caves demonstrate a low level and sporadic, but persistent, use of these …


Life In The Underworld: Anchialine Cave Biology In The Era Of Speleogenomics, Jorge L. Pérez-Moreno, Thomas M. Iliffe, Heather D. Bracken-Grissom May 2016

Life In The Underworld: Anchialine Cave Biology In The Era Of Speleogenomics, Jorge L. Pérez-Moreno, Thomas M. Iliffe, Heather D. Bracken-Grissom

International Journal of Speleology

Anchialine caves contain haline bodies of water with underground connections to the ocean and limited exposure to open air. Despite being found on islands and peninsular coastlines around the world, the isolation of anchialine systems has facilitated the evolution of high levels of endemism among their inhabitants. The unique characteristics of anchialine caves and of their predominantly crustacean biodiversity nominate them as particularly interesting study subjects for evolutionary biology. However, there is presently a distinct scarcity of modern molecular methods being employed in the study of anchialine cave ecosystems. The use of current and emerging molecular techniques, e.g., next-generation sequencing …


Diversity Of Cultured Bacteria From The Perennial Ice Block Of Scarisoara Ice Cave, Romania, Corina Iţcuş, Mădălina-Denisa Pascu, Traian Brad, Aurel Perşoiu, Cristina Purcarea Jan 2016

Diversity Of Cultured Bacteria From The Perennial Ice Block Of Scarisoara Ice Cave, Romania, Corina Iţcuş, Mădălina-Denisa Pascu, Traian Brad, Aurel Perşoiu, Cristina Purcarea

International Journal of Speleology

Cave ice ecosystems represent a poorly investigated glacial environment. Diversity of cave ice bacteria and their distribution in perennial ice deposits of this underground glacial habitat could constitute a proxy for microbial response to climatic and environmental changes. Scarisoara Ice Cave (Romania) hosts one of the oldest and largest cave ice blocks worldwide. Here we report on cultured microbial diversity of recent, 400, and 900 years-old perennial ice from this cave, representing the first characterization of a chronological distribution of cave-ice bacteria. Total cell density measured by SYBR Green I epifluorescence microscopy varied in the 2.4 x 104 – …