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Volume 48, Issue 3 (2019)

Cover and Front Matter

Articles

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Genesis of iron and manganese sediments in Zoloushka Cave (Ukraine/Moldova) as revealed by δ13C organic carbon
Piotr Kotula, Viacheslav Andreychouk, Jacek Pawlyta, Leszek Marynowski, and Izabela Jendrzejewska

  • Origin of iron and manganese sediments in gypsum cave
  • Isotopic fractionation of biogenic carbon in a cave environment
  • Chemical composition of iron and manganese sediments
  • Variability of carbon isotopic composition in cave air carbon dioxide

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Petrography and provenance of floor sediments from the Loutra Almopias Cave (Pella, Macedonia, Greece)
Ioannis Georgiadis, Katerina Chatzopoulou, Nikolaos Kantiranis, Ioakeim Ioakeimidis, and Ananias Tsirambides

  • Channel facies make up the bulk whereas slackwater facies the final layer of the cave sediments.
  • First description of kutnohorite, isomorphous with dolomite, in a Greek cave.
  • Lepus timidus fossils found in the cave represent the southernmost record of this species in Europe

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The lampenflora in show caves and its treatment: an emerging ecological problem
Carlos Baquedano Estévez, Luis Moreno Merino, Almudena de la Losa Román, and Juan J. Durán Valsero

  • Artificial lighting causes deterioration of Show Caves due to Lampenflora grow
  • It is not known how to eliminate Lampenflora permanently
  • Chemicals used in cleaning lampenflora can pollute groundwater
  • It is essential to investigate the doses of chemicals used in cleaning lampenflora
  • It appears that an excess of chemicals are used to remove lampenflora

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Drivers of ant composition, richness, and trophic guilds in Neotropical iron ore cavities
Rodrigo A. Castro-Souza, Thais G. Pellegrini, Marconi Souza-Silva, and Rodrigo L. Ferreira

  • Ant species richness is higher in the epigean than in the hypogean ferruginous environments
  • Ant species composition is different between epigean and hypogean ferruginous environments
  • The cavity historical use did not influence the ant species richness or composition
  • Subterranean environment traits were not able to explain ant species richness
  • Ant assemblages in the cave communities were mostly composed by generalist species

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Screening the cultivable cave microbial mats for the production of antimicrobial compounds and antibiotic resistance
Jerneja Ambrožič Avguštin, Patricia Petrič, and Lejla Pašić

  • We evaluated antibiotic resistance to 22 antibiotics in 69 isolates of cave bacteria
  • Majority (89%) of isolates were resistant to 1-17 antibiotics
  • We screened 78 cave isolates for production of antimicrobials against 10 indicator strains
  • Up to 20.5% of cave isolates inhibited the growth of indicator strains
  • Isolates most frequently inhibited growth of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus spp.

Rapid Communication

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Barite replacement boxwork in the Frasassi caves (Italy)
Sandro Galdenzi

  • Barite boxwork replacing the spar veins of limestone in the cave environment
  • Replacement process related to sulfide oxidation in a sulphuric acid cave
  • Replacement process related to corrosional rills produced by rising fluids in the groundwater
  • Co-existence of corrosional and encrusting processes in the groundwater

Announcements

Book Review