Cave Communities: From the Surface Border to the Deep Darkness

• Other Authors: Manenti, Raoul (Editor), Lunghi, Enrico (Editor)
• Format: Electronic Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI - Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute 2023
• Subjects: Research & information: general; Biology, life sciences; Zoology & animal sciences; cave biology; subterranean habitats; vertebrates; invertebrates; community dynamics; biospeleology; hypogean; conservation; biodiversity; troglobite; troglophile; trogloxene; extreme environment; niche; epikarst; classification trees; Copepoda; random forests; Diptera; Limonia; Limonia nubeculosa; Neolimonia; Trichoceridea; cave community; prey; food resources; occupancy; abundance; Astyanax; Spelaeomysis; Troglomexicanus; Speocirolana; Toro cave; Sierra de El Abra; troglomorphy; stygobite; fieldwork; wild fish; comparative biology; behavior; troglomorphism; olfactory test; infrared movies; amino acids; chondroitin; plasticity; cybernetics; ecology; cavefish; dissolved oxygen; cave evolution; Astyanax mexicanus; Ostracoda; Yucatán Peninsula; cenotes; mitochondrial marker; geometric morphometrics; population ecology; growth; movements; São Domingos karst area; subterranean fishes; evolution; origin of troglobites; Brazil; subterranean biology; environmental science; biogeography; distribution records; groundwater; underwater caves; cenote; mysid; stygobiont; bioindicator; accidental cave visitors; Arachnida; Araneae; arid; levant; Mediterranean; species diversity
• Online Access: DOAB: download the publication; DOAB: description of the publication

From a biological perspective, the subterranean realm is one of the less studied, but at the same time, one of the most promising, theatres for new findings and research. Compared to those on the surface, the ecological conditions occurring in subterranean habitats are relatively simple, and this may be an optimal scenario for understanding the mechanisms allowing the colonization, adaptation, and evolution of species, as well as their interactions within local communities. Diversity in subterranean habitats is often overlooked, and few studies embrace whole communities or try to assess functional relationships between species. This Special Issue reprint comprises papers covering a wide range of aspects related to the distribution, composition, and roles of subterranean communities occurring in different typologies of subterranean habitats.