Biodiversity and Ecology of Fauna in Percolating Water in Selected Slovenian and Romanian Caves

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Publication Date

January 2007

Abstract

Biodiversity and ecology of fauna in percolating water from Slovenian and Romanian caves was studied. Research focused on unravelling the community structure of epikarst fauna, which is carried away by the trickles of percolating water from the epikarst and vadose zones. The major part of the fauna found in percolating water is represented by copepods. This fauna, originating in the epikarst, was analysed and by means of the systematic sampling and observation the same groups of animals were found in Slovenian and Romanian caves. Differences among caves and sampling points indicate that epikarst is a heterogenous habitat. Relationship between faunal richness and the physical characteristics of the water was found. Correlation between surface geomorphology and fauna in percolating water was statistically significant in the Postojna cave system.

Keywords

Groundwater Monitoring, Epikarst, Rock Relief, Classical Karst, Time Series Analysis, Ground Penetrating Radar, Subsoil Karren, Stable Isotopes, Dinaric Karst, Palaeokarst, Croatia, Speleothem, Biospeleology, Polje, Carbon Flux, Karstification, Monitoring, Vadose Zone, Quaternary, Venetian Prealps, Recharge, Carbon, Pseudoscorpions, Spiders, Uvala, Springs, Co2, Slovenija, Tracer Test, Turbine, Pivka, Slovenia, Karst, Caves, Cave, Italy, Millipedes, Karst Aquifer, Curaçao

Document Type

Article

Identifier

SFS0071351_00001

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