Volume 49, Issue 2 (2020)
Introduction
Dedicated to the: International Year of Caves and KarstCover and Front Matter
Articles
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, and Katrine Worsaae
- New anchialine faunal discoveries from the Turks and Caicos Islands
- Continued subterranean exploration continues to uncover animals new to science
- Subterranean connectivity suggested for Turks and Caicos Islands
- Lucayan archipelago remains a biodiversity hotspot for anchialine fauna
An Epigravettian hypogeal site in the Grotta del Fiume Cave at Frasassi (northeastern Apennines, Italy): Environmental and geochronologic assessments
Alessandro Montanari, Artur Adamek, Angelo Curatolo, Marco P. Ferretti, Maurizio Mainiero, Sandro Mariani, David McGee, Gaia Pignocchi, and Stefano Recanatini
- Topographic survey of a karstic cave
- High-resolution mapping of archeological finds in a cave room
- Exhaustive photographic documentation of the hypogeal environment and the archeological finds
- Taphonomic study of animal bone deposits
- Discrete sampling and radioisotopic dating of fireplace charcoal and animal bones
Cosmogenic nuclide dating of cave sediments in the Eastern Alps and implications for erosion rates
Philipp Häuselmann, Lukas Plan, Peter Pointner, and Markus Fiebig
- Dating of caves in the Northern Calcareous Alps gives absolute ages
- Ages can be used to retrace valley erosion rates
- Valley erosion rates are compared with other data throughout the Alps
- Erosion rates are slower in Mio-Pliocene and accelerate in Quaternary
Speleothems in quartz-sandstone caves of Ponta Grossa municipality, Campos Gerais region, Paraná state, southern Brazil
Henrique S. Pontes, Luiz A. Fernandes, Mário S. de Melo, Gilson B. Guimarães, and Laís L. Massuqueto
- Speleothems in caves developed in quartz-sandstones
- Opal-A and cryptocrystalline silica speleothems
- Karst process in Furnas Formation and Vila Velha subunit of the Campo Mourão Formation
- Speleothems with evidence of biologically induced mineralization
- Campos Gerais karst region, Paraná state, Brazil
Safe and effective disinfection of show cave infrastructure in a time of COVID-19
Hazel A. Barton
- Showcaves have unique challenges to coronavirus disinfection
- The chemistry of coronaviruses suggest they will adsorb to limestone
- The chemistry of limestone surfaces is likely to inactivate coronaviruses
- Effective disinfectants with minimal impact on caves were identified
- Face masks and social distancing remain critical in preventing disease
Did you wash your caving suit? Cavers’ role in the potential spread of Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the causative agent of White-Nose Disease
Violeta Zhelyazkova, Antonia Hubancheva, Georgi Radoslavov, Nia Toshkova, and Sebastien J. Puechmaille
- The fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd) is a deadly pathogen for bats
- Pd spores can be present on caving equipment following a visit to a cave
- Pd spores can survive on caving equipment for at least 25 days, and probably longer
- Regular washing removes most Pd spores although it does not replace decontamination
- Worldwide measures to reduce anthropogenic pathogen pollution in caves are needed
The role of microhabitats in structuring cave invertebrate communities in Guatemala
Gabrielle S.M. Pacheco, Marconi Souza Silva, Enio Cano, and Rodrigo L. Ferreira
- Troglobitic species responded to different substrate features than non-troglobitic species
- The high specialization of troglobitic species might explain such different responses
- The findings of this study give insights on how biodiversity is distributed within a cave
- Conservation measures should aim to preserve as many microhabitats and trophic resources as possible
