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Articles

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Airflow dynamics in Wind Cave and Jewel Cave: How do barometric caves breathe?
Annika K. Gomell and Andreas Pflitsch

  • Barometric airflow is studied based on pressure changes and resulting gradients
  • Relevant times of surface pressure changes for airflow induction differ significantly between caves
  • Airflow gradients are stronger indicators for airflow than previous surface pressure changes
  • Airflow response times to surface pressure changes are significantly longer at Jewel Cave compared to Wind Cave
  • Results prove impact of cave-internal pressure processes on speleoclimate systems

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Flow regime evolution of a major cave system in the Eastern Alps (Hirlatzhöhle, Dachstein)
Lukas Plan, Gottfried Buchegger, Eva Kaminsky, Gabriella Koltai, Tanguy Racine, and Jacek Szczygieł

  • Speleogenesis of a 116 km-long and 1560 m-deep Alpine cave system is investigated
  • Present day and Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene flow conditions are compared
  • Cave levels, palaeo-flow direction and sediments differ from other caves in the region
  • An allogenic palaeo-recharge from crystalline units of the Eastern Alps is unlikely
  • The main cave level originated in the Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene

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Algae and cyanobacteria in the aphotic habitats of Veternica Cave (Medvednica Mt., Croatia) and selected caves of the Dinaric karst (South-Eastern Europe)
Najla Baković, Tanja Pipan, Robert Baković, Roman Ozimec, Josip Rubinić, and Renata Matoničkin Kepčija

  • A ten-year study shows that algae and cyanobacteria can be found in the cave aphotic zone
  • In cave aphotic zone both live individuals and remnants of algae and cyanobacteria were found
  • Algae and cyanobacteria were most frequently associated with hydrologically active caves
  • Algae and cyanobacteria were more often found in deeper parts of the caves
  • Algae and cyanobacteria should be acknowledged in the discussion of cave food nets

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The nitrogen dynamics of Deer Cave, Sarawak, and the role of bat caves as biogeochemical sinks in Tropical Moist Forests.
Joyce Lundberg, Donald A. McFarlane, and Guy Van Rentergem

  • We present the first detailed modelling of ammonia plume in a cave context
  • We present the first quantitative (conservative) estimate of total population of Chaerephon plicata in Deer Cave, at 774,828 ±48,320
  • Export of N as gaseous ammonia is minor; majority is exported in aqueous form
  • The final budget is dominated (as much as 94.4%) by microbial denitrification of fixed-N to diatomic N
  • The cave functions as a sink for up to 39% of the total forest nitrogen budget

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Sub-recent microfauna within allogenic sediments at the bottom of a deep cave, Njemica (Biokovo Mt., Croatia)
Tomislav Kurečić, Valentina Hajek Tadesse, Lara Wacha, Marija Horvat, Nina Trinajstić, and Ivan Mišur

  • Allogenic cave sediments are deposited from suspension - slackwater facies
  • The provenance of the detritus is related to the Quaternary deposits in the surrounding areas
  • Determined ostracod species indicate sub-recent in situ assemblages
  • Sub-recent microfauna corelates with the endemic living species within Dinaric Karst

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Worldwide distribution of cave-dwelling Chelodesmidae (Diplopoda, Polydesmida)
Rodrigo Salvador Bouzan, Jackson C. Means, Kaloyan Ivanov, Rodrigo L. Ferreira, Antonio Domingos Brescovit, and Luiz Felipe Moretti Iniesta

  • Little is known regarding Chelodesmidae species and their association with caves
  • The species richness in caves represents 3% of the 800 described in the family
  • The majority of the species do not display adaptations to a subterranean lifestyle
  • The five troglobitic taxa indicated in this study may represent relictual lineages
  • Efforts are needed to bridge the gap between the true Chelodesmidae diversity in caves

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