Animal Sciences Commons^™

Worldwide Distribution Of Cave-Dwelling Chelodesmidae (Diplopoda, Polydesmida), Rodrigo Salvador Bouzan, Jackson C. Means, Kaloyan Ivanov, Rodrigo L. Ferreira, Antonio Domingos Brescovit, Luiz Felipe Moretti Iniesta

International Journal of Speleology

Chelodesmidae is one of the most species rich families within the Myriapoda. However, little is known regarding their association with caves. We provide a list of all Chelodesmidae taxa reported from caves, map their worldwide distribution, and discuss the troglomorphic features of the group. A total of 25 species and subspecies from 20 genera and 2 subfamilies have been recorded from 59 caves and cave systems in 11 countries. These numbers represent a surprisingly modest proportion (~3%) of the approximately 800 described species in the family. Records of cave-dwelling chelodesmids appear to be geographically biased with most taxa reported from …

Molecular Genetic Analysis Of Stygobiotic Shrimps Of The Genus Xiphocaridinella (Crustacea: Decapoda: Atyidae) Reveals A Connection Between Distant Caves In Central Abkhazia, Southwestern Caucasus, Ivan Marin, Ilya Turbanov

International Journal of Speleology

Based on the morpho-genetic study of stygobiotic shrimps from the genus Xiphocaridinella Sadowsky, 1930 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Atyidae), a hydrogeological connection of a number of distant caves in Central Abkhazia of the southwestern Caucasus is satisfied, which indicates the possibility of using biospeleological studies in some cases to identify karst hydrosystems together with traditional hydrogeological methods. Moreover, a new stygobiotic atyid shrimp from the genus Xiphocaridinella, X. kelasuri sp. n., is described based on morphology and analysis of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I DNA sequences from three distant caves. The new species is genetically divergent from relatives and phylogenetically related to …

Molecular Phylogeny Of Cave Dwelling Eremogryllodes Crickets (Orthoptera, Myrmecophilidae) Across Zagros Mountains And Southern Iran, Mohadeseh Sadat Tahami, Mina Hojat-Ansari, Anna Namyatova, Saber Sadeghi

International Journal of Speleology

Recently, several new species and subspecies from the genus Eremogryllodes Chopard, 1929 (Insecta: Orthoptera: Myrmecophilidae) inhabiting caves of Iran, have been described based on morphology. The high variation of genitalia structure along with high similarity of external morphology between populations hamper the precise species identification. Thus, molecular approaches are critical to determine the taxonomic positions of species/subspecies of this genus. Here we provide the molecular phylogeny, based on the 16S rRNA mitochondrial gene, of recently described species of Eremogryllodes along with some unidentified specimens from the same region. The results support the monophyly of the family Myrmecophilidae. The topology of …

Protura (Arthropoda: Hexapoda) In Slovenian Caves, Loris Galli, Franc Janžekovič, Peter Kozel, Tone Novak

International Journal of Speleology

Protura is a small class of Hexapoda, generally poorly known, and rather scarce data on its occurrence in caves are scattered throughout literature on fauna in caves and in some papers on Protura. Although the cave-dwelling fauna is relatively well studied in Slovenia, published records on Protura are rare. In this paper, data on the occurrence and abundance of Protura in Slovenian caves are considered. Various statistical analyses were performed to compare caves with Protura to those without in 60 intensively monitored cavities to detect any differences in the selected environmental conditions. No significant difference was obtained. Samples collected from …

Microhabitat Selection Of A Sicilian Subterranean Woodlouse And Its Implications For Cave Management, Giuseppe Nicolosi, Stefano Mammola, Salvatore Costanzo, Giorgio Sabella, Rosolino Cirrincione, Giovanni Signorello, Marco Isaia

International Journal of Speleology

Human activities in subterranean environments can affect different ecosystem components, including the resident fauna. Subterranean terrestrial invertebrates are particularly sensitive to environmental change, especially microclimatic variations. For instance, microclimate modifications caused by the visitors may directly affect local fauna in caves opened to the public. However, since numerous factors act synergistically in modulating the distribution and abundance of subterranean species, it remains challenging to differentiate the impact of human intervention from that of other factors. Therefore, evidence of the impact of tourism on cave invertebrate fauna remains scarce. Over a year and with approximately two visits a month, we investigated …

Anchialine Biodiversity In The Turks And Caicos Islands: New Discoveries And Current Faunal Composition, Brett C. Gonzalez, Alejandro Martínez, Jørgen Olesen, Sarit B. Truskey, Lauren Ballou, Marc Allentoft-Larsen, Joost Daniels, Paul Heinerth, Mark Parrish, Naqqi Manco, Jon Ward, Thomas M. Iliffe, Karen J. Osborn, Katrine Worsaae

International Journal of Speleology

Lying at the southernmost point of the Lucayan Archipelago, the Turks and Caicos Islands are amongst the better studied localities for anchialine cave biodiversity. For nearly five decades, novel invertebrate fauna, comprised primarily of crustaceans, have been collected from these tidally influenced pools – but new findings are always on the horizon. Herein we present new records of crustaceans and annelids from anchialine blue holes and horizontal caves of the Turks and Caicos. These findings include two potentially new species of meiofaunal annelids and a new species of remipede collected from a shallow water cave pool. Our 2019 expedition additionally …

Impacts Of Invasive Rats On Hawaiian Cave Resources, Francis G. Howarth, Fred D. Stone

International Journal of Speleology

Although there are no published studies and limited data documenting damage by rodents in Hawaiian caves, our incidental observations during more than 40 years of surveying caves indicate that introduced rodents, especially the roof rat, Rattus rattus, pose significant threats to vulnerable cave resources. Caves, with their nearly constant and predictable physical environment often house important natural and cultural features including biological, paleontological, geological, climatic, mineralogical, cultural, and archaeological resources. All four invasive rodents in Hawai‘i commonly nest in cave entrances and rock shelters, but only the roof rat (Rattus rattus) habitually enters caves and utilizes areas …

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 …

The Multifaceted Effects Induced By Floods On The Macroinvertebrate Communities Inhabiting A Sinking Cave Stream, Octavian Pacioglu, Nicoleta Ianovici, Mărioara N. Filimon, Adrian Sinitean, Gabriel Iacob, Henrietta Barabas, Alexandru Pahomi, Andrei Acs, Hanelore Muntean, Lucian Pârvulescu

International Journal of Speleology

First-order sinking cave streams experience considerable hydrological variability, including spates and periods of base-flow during dry seasons. Early-summer flooding on a first-order stream sinking in Ciur-Ponor Cave (Romania) represented a suitable opportunity to test the response of the macroinvertebrate community and of basal food resources quantity and diversity to such a disturbance event. The invertebrate community and basal resources (i.e., woody debris, leaves, fine particulate organic matter and epilithon) were collected from three sampling sites, before and after the flood. The sampling strategy followed an up-downstream gradient of both species diversity and quantity of allochtonous organic matter decrease as the …

Species-Area Model Predicting Diversity Loss In An Artificially Flooded Cave In Brazil, Rodrigo L. Ferreira, Thais G. Pellegrini

International Journal of Speleology

Subterranean environments are poorly known regarding many ecological aspects, such as community structure and its response to different disturbances. To estimate the effects of ground area lost in a limestone cave community in Southeastern Brazil, the invertebrate fauna was sampled before 76% of the cave floor was submerged by the filling of a hydroeletric power plant reservoir. Then, a 2-year monitoring was conducted. A species-area curve based on empiric data was constructed and the z-value of the species-area equation was calculated, what allowed estimating the expected cave richness after flooding comparing with data obtained during the monitoring. The results support …

A Unique Small-Scale Microclimatic Gradient In A Temperate Karst Harbours Exceptionally High Diversity Of Soil Collembola, Natália Raschmanová, Dana Miklisová, Ľubomír Kováč

International Journal of Speleology

The collapse doline of the Silická ľadnica Ice Cave, 351 m² in area, is a unique phenomenon, a steep microclimate gradient in a low-altitude temperate karst in the Western Carpathian Mts, Slovakia, with a remarkable temperature decrease from the edge of karst plateau towards the doline bottom, which harbours perennial ice deposits. Collembola communities were studied in detail at seven sites along the 117.5 m long gradient slope during 2005–2007. An exceptionally high species richness of soil Collembola was observed, 129 species, which is about 91% of the total species richness generated by Chao1/ACE estimator. Species richness positively correlated …

The Activity Of Saccharolytic Enzymes In Collembola Is Associated With Species Affinity For Caves, Andrea Parimuchová, Vladimír Šustr, Miloslav Devetter, Ondřej Vošta, Ionuţ Popa, Ľubomír Kováč

International Journal of Speleology

The activity of enzymes associated with digestion can reflect food availability and feeding preferences of invertebrates in a particular habitat. Caves are mostly nutrient-poor habitats lacking primary production. In the present study the enzymatic activity of cellulases, trehalases and chitinases was measured in eight collembolan species differently associated with the cave environment: the troglobionts (obligate cave species) Pseudacherontides spelaeus and Protaphorura janosik; the eutroglophiles Ceratophysella denticulata, Folsomia candida and Heteromurus nitidus; the subtroglophiles Hypogastrura aequepilosa and Orthonychiurus rectopapillatus; and the trogloxene (not associated with caves) Megaphorura arctica. Qualitative enzymatic patterns and quantitative differences in species activity were …

Assessing Preservation Priorities Of Caves And Karst Areas Using The Frequency Of Endemic Cave-Dwelling Species, Eugen Nitzu, Marius Vlaicu, Andrei Giurginca, Ioana N. Meleg, Ionut Popa, Augustin Nae, Ştefan Baba

International Journal of Speleology

Endemic and rare species as bioindicators of habitat vulnerability were used to develop protection and management plans for biotope prioritization (mainly islands habitats, lava tubes or groundwaters). Due to their narrow distribution, the endemic species (species confined to a restricted geographic area) are more susceptible to ecological disequilibrium and habitat loss than the widespread ones. Consequently, endemics become endangered in the context of ecological disturbance caused by anthropogenic pressure, making them suitable candidates to assess environmental preservation needs. Taking into consideration that most of the stygobitic and troglobitic species are endemic and confined to specific karst areas, based on their …

Mitigating The Conflict Between Pitfall-Trap Sampling And Conservation Of Terrestrial Subterranean Communities In Caves, Peter Kozel, Tanja Pipan, Nina Šajna, Slavko Polak, Tone Novak

International Journal of Speleology

Subterranean habitats are known for their rich endemic fauna and high vulnerability to disturbance. Many methods and techniques are used to sample the biodiversity of terrestrial invertebrate fauna in caves, among which pitfall trapping remains one of the most frequently used and effective ones. However, this method has turned out to be harmful to subterranean communities if applied inappropriately. Traditionally, pitfall traps have been placed in caves solely on the ground. Here we present an optimized technique of pitfall trapping to achieve a balance between sampling completeness and minimal disturbance of the fauna in the cave. Monthly we placed traps …

Genetic Analyses Determine Connectivity Among Cave And Surface Populations Of The Jamaican Endemic Freshwater Crab Sesarma Fossarum In The Cockpit Country, Manuel Stemmer, Christoph D. Schubart

International Journal of Speleology

The Jamaican freshwater crab Sesarma fossarum (Decapoda: Brachyura: Sesarmidae) is endemic to western central Jamaica where it occurs in cave and surface streams of karst regions. In the present study, we examine the population genetic structure of the species, providing evidence for intraspecific differentiation and genetic substructure among twelve sampled populations. Interestingly, crabs from caves appear genetically undistinguishable from representatives of nearby surface waters, despite previously observed and described morphometric differentiation. In contrast, genetic isolation takes place among populations from rivers and caves belonging to different watersheds. In one case, even populations from different tributaries of the same river were …

Seasonal Dynamics And Micro-Climatic Preference Of Two Alpine Endemic Hypogean Beetles, Stefano Mammola, Elena Piano, Pier Mauro Giachino, Marco Isaia

International Journal of Speleology

Hypogean beetles generally live in stable environments, characterized by constant temperature and high relative humidity. Changes in the underground microclimatic conditions generally induce local migrations of the beetles through the hypogean environment in search of suitable microhabitats. We studied the seasonal dynamics and the micro-climatic preference of two Alpine endemic hypogean beetles - Sphodropsis ghilianii (Coleoptera, Carabidae) and Dellabeffaella roccae (Coleoptera, Cholevidae) - in the hypogean complex of Pugnetto (Graian Alps, Italy). We surveyed the two species for one year, using baited pitfall traps and measuring temperature and humidity along the two main caves. We used logistic regression mixed models …

The Cova Des Pas De Vallgornera (Llucmajor, Mallorca): A Singular Deposit Bearing An Exceptional Well Preserved Early Pleistocene Vertebrate Fauna, Pere Bover, Alex Valenzuela, Carmen Guerra, Juan Rofes, Josep A. Alcover, Joaquin Gines, Joan J. Fornos, Gloria Cuenca-Bescós, Antoni Merino

International Journal of Speleology

The Cova des Pas de Vallgornera is the longest cave of Mallorca (Balearic Islands, Western Mediterranean) and one of the 30 longest caves in the world. The exploration of one of the galleries allowed the discovery of a fossiliferous deposit of vertebrate remains in a remarkable preservation state. The fossil faunal complex found in this gallery is composed of up to 5 mammalian species (Myotragus aff. kopperi, Hypnomys onicensis, Nesiotites aff. ponsi, Rhinolophus aff. mehelyi and Pipistrellus sp.), at least 14 bird species (among them two Mallorcan endemic taxa: Pica mourerae and Athene vallgornerensis), one …

Exploring The Sulfide Tolerance Of Ectosymbiotic Niphargus Amphipods From The Frasassi Caves, Central Italy, Jan Bauermeister, Karoline Assig, Sharmishtha Dattagupta

International Journal of Speleology

Two species of the crustacean amphipod genus Niphargus inhabit the sulfidic groundwaters of the Frasassi caves in central Italy, and both harbor filamentous, sulfide-oxidizing Thiothrix ectosymbionts. As sulfide is toxic to most aerobic organisms, it appeared possible that the ectosymbionts could help their Niphargus hosts with detoxification processes. In this study, mortality due to sulfide was compared between Niphargus individuals with ectosymbionts and individuals whose ectosymbionts had been killed by antibiotic treatment. Both Frasassi-dwelling Niphargus species revealed exceptionally high tolerances to sulfide compared to other amphipod species studied so far. Niphargus individuals without viable ectosymbionts tolerated sulfide levels exceeding those …

Chemical Defense In The Cave-Dwelling Millipede Brachydesmus Troglobius Daday, 1889 (Diplopoda, Polydesmidae), Slobodan E. Makarov, Ljubodrag V. Vujisić, Božidar P. M. Ćurčić, Bojan S. Ilić, Vele V. Tešević, Vlatka E. Vajs, Ivan M. Vučković, Bojan M. Mitić, Luka R. Lučić, Iris Ž. Đorđević

International Journal of Speleology

The troglomorphic millipede Brachydesmus troglobius Daday, 1889 (Polydesmida: Polydesmidae) secretes allomones from glands on both lateral surfaces of its body segments. The secretion was identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis with electron and chemical ionization, and was shown to be composed of a mixture of benzaldehyde, benzyl alcohol, benzoylnitrile, benzoic acid and mandelonitrile benzoate. Hydrogen cyanide was qualitatively identified by the picric acid test. This is the first identification of these compounds in a cave-dwelling polydesmid.

The World’S Deepest Subterranean Community - Krubera-Voronja Cave (Western Caucasus), Alberto Sendra, Ana Sofia P.S. Reboleira

International Journal of Speleology

Subsurface biota extends over a wide variety of habitats that can be spatially interconnected. The largest communities of this subsurface biota inhabit cavities and are well known mainly in caves where biologists are able to have access. Data about deep subterranean communities and arthropods living under one thousand meters was unknown.

An expedition to world’s deepest cave, Krubera-Voronja in Western Caucasus, revealed an interesting subterranean community, living below 2000 meters and represented by more than 12 species of arthropods, including several new species for science. This deep cave biota is composed of troglobionts and also epigean species, that can penetrate …