Volume 50, Issue 2 (2021)
Introduction
Dedicated to the: International Year of Caves and KarstArticles
Ecophysiological responses of two closely related epigean and hypogean Niphargus species to hypoxia and increased temperature: Do they differ?
Tatjana Simčič and Boris Sket
- Oxygen consumption of both Niphargus species increased during post-hypoxic recovery
- Oxygen consumption of hypogen species gradually decreased after reaching maximum
- Increased temperature modified the metabolic responses to hypoxia
- Responses differed between closely related epigean and hypogean Niphargus species
Bacteria, guano and soot: Source assessment of organic matter preserved in black laminae in stalagmites from caves of the Sierra de Atapuerca (N Spain)
Joeri Kaal, Virginia Martínez-Pillado, Antonio Martínez Cortizas, Jorge Sanjurjo Sánchez, Arantza Aranburu, Juan-Luis Arsuaga, and Eneko Iriarte
- We determined the molecular composition of speleothem organics in black laminae
- Py-GC-MS and THM-GC-MS indicate bacteria, soot and guano remains
- Soot marks nearby human activity but microbial sources prevail
- Molecular screening of bulk organics is a tool to decide further targeted analyses
Microbially-mediated carbonate dissolution and precipitation; towards a protocol for ex-situ, cave-analogue cultivation experiments
Vanessa E. Johnston, Andrea Martín-Pérez, Sara Skok, and Janez Mulec
- Carbonate tablets inoculated with microbes from Postojna Cave, Slovenia, were observed with SEM
- Microbes and extracellular polymeric substances seen on polished tablet surfaces
- Microbially-mediated calcite dissolution/precipitation occurred in cave-like conditions
- Evidence of entombment of microbes in a Si-rich precipitate
- Methodological improvements suggested for ex-situ cave-analogue cultivation experiments
Flow dynamics in a vadose shaft – a case study from the Hochschwab karst massif (Northern Calcareous Alps, Austria)
Eva Kaminsky, Lukas Plan, Thomas Wagner, Barbara Funk, and Pauline Oberender
- Highly dynamic runoff (factor 9500) in a vadose canyon 100 m below the surface
- Transit velocities differ by three orders of magnitude between base and high flow
- Recession analysis and numerical modelling indicate a low water storage volume
Multi-criteria analysis for mapping susceptibility to iron formation caves development in the Gandarela mountain range (MG), southeast Brazil
Iraydes Tálita Nola and Luis Almeida Bacellar
- Karst features in iron-rich geological materials are described
- The genesis and geographical location of iron caves are not yet properly defined
- The susceptibility of caves using fuzzy AHP demonstrate good predictive ability
- Iron formation caves susceptibility map is useful for speleological prospecting
- Slope gradient criterion was relevant for assessing the susceptibility of caves
The impact of burning on the structure and mineral composition of bat guano
Joyce Lundberg and Donald A. McFarlane
- Many features of burnt guano cannot easily be distinguished from non-burnt guano
- Rapid dehydration from burning causes morphological change to crystals (cracking, striations)
- Many so-called “high temperature” minerals are not diagnostic of fire, other than graphite.
- Most “high temperature” minerals can also be produced at low temperatures
- Spontaneous combustion of guano (without human involvement) is extremely unlikely
Cave-dwelling heleomyzid flies (Diptera: Heleomyzidae) from the Polish caves. Historical overview and new data
Joanna Kocot-Zalewska and Andrzej J. Woźnica
- Altogether 23 heleomyzid species from 7 genera were identified
- 1 species was considered as troglobiont, i.e., Oecothea praecox
- 11 species were recognized as eutroglophiles, 9 as subtroglophiles, 2 as trogloxenes
- Dominant taxa: Scoliocentra brachypterna, Heleomyza captiosa, Eccoptomera pallescens
- The highest number of species has been found in the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland
Molecular phylogeny of cave dwelling Eremogryllodes crickets (Orthoptera, Myrmecophilidae) across Zagros Mountains and Southern Iran
Mohadeseh Sadat Tahami, Mina Hojat-Ansari, Anna Namyatova, and Saber Sadeghi
- 16S rRNA marker strongly supports the monophyly of Myrmecophilidae
- Molecular species tend to be clustered geographically
- The 16s marker could only partially separate the morpho-species
- Our study suggests the presence of cryptic species inside caves
- More gene markers are needed to resolve the taxonomy of Eremogryllodes species
