Volume 46, Issue 1 (2017)
Cover and Front Matter
Articles
Investigation of clay sediments and bedrock morphology in caves with seismic traveltime tomography: an application at Alepotrypa Cave (Diros, Greece)
Lazaros Polymenakos
- Seismic traveltime tomography imaging at Alepotrypa Cave (Diros, Greece)
- Interpreted sediment interfaces provide deposition patterns and allow for thickness and volume estimations
- Reconstructed buried cave morphology allows for visualization of the buried cave floor shape and cross-section
Population density, habitat dynamic and aerial survival of relict cave bivalves from genus Congeria in the Dinaric karst
Olga Jovanović Glavaš, Branko Jalžić, and Helena Bilandžija
- Cave bivalves from the genus Congeria can form high density populations
- In Jama u Predolcu cave the highest recorded density was 1625 individuals per meter square
- Congeria jalzici is adapted to colder caves and higher water level oscillations then C. kusceri
- Natural hydrological conditions are entirely altered leading to Congeria being highly endangered
- Cave bivalves can survive exposure to air for more than 2 months
Toxicity of fluorescent tracers and their degradation byproducts
Philippe Gombert, Hugues Biaudet, René de Sèze, Pascal Pandard, and Jean Carré
- State of the art regarding toxicity and ecotocxicity of fluorescent tracers
- Degradation experiments of fluorescent tracers in two different ways
- Results of toxicity tests of degradation byproducts
- Results of ecooxicity tests of degradation byproducts
Petrographical and geochemical changes in Bosnian stalagmites and their palaeo-environmental significance
Veronica Chiarini, Isabelle Couchoud, Russell Drysdale, Petra Bajo, Simone Milanolo, Silvia Frisia, Alan Greig, John Hellstrom, and Jo De Waele
- Two Holocene stalagmites of Bosnia have been studied
- Stable isotope profiles have been obtained
- Trace elements were analysed in one stalagmite
- Detailed petrography has been carried out
- Combining calcite fabrics, stable isotopes and trace elements allows for palaeoclimate reconstruction
Secondary minerals from salt caves in the Atacama Desert (Chile): a hyperarid and hypersaline environment with potential analogies to the Martian subsurface
Jo De Waele, Cristina Carbone, Laura Sanna, Marco Vattano, Ermanno Galli, Francesco Sauro, and Paolo Forti
- Halite caves in Atacama have been explored
- Secondary cave minerals of these salt caves have been analysed
- Sixteen cave minerals have been discovered
- Antarcticite, atacamite, leonite, darapskite, and blödite are the most interesting ones
- Genetical mechanisms explain the genesis of some of these minerals
Diversity and biocide susceptibility of fungal assemblages dwelling in the Art Gallery of Magura Cave, Bulgaria
Milena M. Mitova, Mihail Iliev, Alena Nováková, Anna A. Gorbushina, Veneta I. Groudeva, and Pedro M. Martin-Sanchez
- Fungi from the Art Gallery were studied by cultivation and molecular analyses
- Fungal diversity was clearly dominated by Penicillium and Aspergillus species
- Abundant fungal growth associated with guanophilic species was detected on sediments
- Scarce fungi were detected on rock surface of painted walls
- The biocides OIT and BAC were effective inhibiting the in vitro growth of dominant fungi
Bat urea-derived minerals in arid environment. First identification of allantoin, C4H6N4O3, in Kahf Kharrat Najem Cave, United Arab Emirates
Philippe Audra, Pavel Bosák, Fernando Gázquez, Didier Cailhol, Roman Skála, Lenka Lisá, Šárka Jonášová, Amos Frumkin, Martin Knez, Tadej Slabe, Nadja Zupan Hajna, and Asma Al-Farraj
- Kahf Kharrat Najem Cave (United Arab Emirates) harbors a bat colony with guano
- Yellowish stalactites of urea and urea-derived substances are studied in this paper
- Allantoin is a urea byproduct, reported here for the first time in a cave
- Rare sulfates (aphthitalite, alunite) and phosphates (possibly archerite-biphosphammite) are present
- Extremely dry conditions explain the crystallization of these very soluble minerals
The ribbed drapery of the Puerto Princesa Underground River (Palawan, Philippines): morphology and genesis
Paolo Forti, Giovanni Badino, Jose Maria Calaforra, and Jo De Waele
- A new form of drapery from PPUR, Palawan Philippines, is described
- A genetic mechanism for its evolution is proposed
- This model might allow to explain other complex stepped speleothems
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, and Bojan Mitić
- Trace elements in the cave sediment and Apfelbeckia insculpta are measured
- Also, the activities of antioxidant enzymes in the troglophilic milipede are studied
- Xenobiotic elements Cr, Hg, Ni, and Pb reveal bioaccumulation factor greater than 1
- Concentrations of Cu, Fe, Mn, and Ni differ in males and females specimens
- GR and GST activities display significant intersexual difference
