Biogenic corrosion caused by bats in Drotsky's Cave (the Gcwihaba Hills, NW Botswana)

Dandurand, Grégory; Duranthon, Francis; Jarry, Marc; Stratford, Dominic; Bruxelles, Laurent

doi:10.1016/j.geomorph.2018.10.027

Cited by 20 publications

(21 citation statements)

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“…While the reason for this difference is not known, it could be related to lower proportions of smaller flying prey and the general drier environment in these caves. Gcwihaba cave for example have a humidity between 60% and 70% rH (Dandurand et al 2019), while spider-rich European caves have relative humidities above 80% rH (Manenti et al 2015;.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Few studies at the caves include a noncomprehensive survey of its bat species (Seamark and Pretorius 2018). There is no published literature on macroinvertebrate assemblages of the cave despite their crucial role in cave ecosystem functions (Cooke and Baillieul 1974;Dandurand et al 2019). A quantitative survey of the cave's macroinvertebrates is necessary for inventory of the cave's macroinvertebrates taxa and for improving the ecological understanding of the caves, and hence inform conservation priorities (Wynne et al 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Figure2. The plan view of Gcwihaba cave (also known as Drotsky's cave) showing its chambers, the approximate position of cave sites surveyed for this study and other internal features (Modified fromDandurand et al 2019, with permission from Gregory Dandurand).…”

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A preliminary survey of the abundance, diversity and distribution of terrestrial macroinvertebrates of Gcwihaba cave, northwest Botswana

Mazebedi¹,

Hesselberg²

2020

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Inventories of cave species and in-depth understanding of cave ecosystems are essential for informing conservation approaches for the unique and vulnerable cave fauna. Gcwihaba cave is the largest cave in Botswana but its ecology is poorly understood. This study set out to provide the first quantitative survey of the cave’s terrestrial macroinvertebrates. Macroinvertebrates were collected from sample sites at 10 m intervals into the cave from the cave entrance. At each site, macroinvertebrates on the cave floor were collected by quadrat sampling while macroinvertebrate from cave walls were collected by visual opportunistic searches. Moisture content, pH and electrical conductivity of the cave floor substrate were measured at each site to examine the influence of the floor properties on the distribution of macroinvertebrates on the cave floor. Twelve species in 10 families and 8 orders of terrestrial macroinvertebrates were collected. The occurrence of taxa varied across the sites, with most taxa occurring in the light and twilight sectors of the cave (within 30 m), whereas the dark sector (beyond 30 m) was dominated by cave cockroaches (Gyna sp.). The abundance of the cave cockroaches, darkling beetles (Tenebrionidae, Tenebrio sp.) and cave wasps (Sphecidae) positively correlated with floor substrate of high moisture content and high electrical conductivity, which became increasingly common with distance into the cave. The abundance of other taxa from the cave floor positively correlated with a floor substrate of high pH and low moisture, which was common near the cave entrance.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A preliminary survey of the abundance, diversity and distribution of terrestrial macroinvertebrates of Gcwihaba cave, northwest Botswana

Mazebedi¹,

Hesselberg²

2020

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“…Guano related morphologies and the resulting mineral assemblages have been described by many authors from caves worldwide that at present have open entrances and contain current or ancient bat guano deposits: Tarhule-Lips & Ford (1998), Onac & Veres (2003), Marincea et al (2004), Onac et al (2005Onac et al ( , 2009), Bird et al (2007), Lundberg & McFarlane (2008, Wurster et al (2010Wurster et al ( , 2015, Serra-Cobo et al (2011, Giurgiu &Tămaş (2013), Pogson et al (2014), Puşcaş et al (2014), Audra et al (2016Audra et al ( , 2017Audra et al ( , 2019, McFarlane & Lundberg (2018), Dandurand et al (2019), etc. Nevertheless, Cova des Pas de Vallgornera represents a peculiar and uncommon site, it hosted bat colonies for an uncertain period of time, leaving their imprints and guano deposits until the entrances collapsed around 2.4 My ago.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Morphological and mineralogical evidence for ancient bat presence in Cova des Pas de Vallgornera (Llucmajor, Mallorca, Western Mediterranean)

Merino¹,

Fornós²,

Mulet³

et al. 2019

IJS

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Cova des Pas de Vallgornera is a unique karst cave located at the Llucmajor coastal platform that stands out not only because of its length, more than 78 km, but also for its particular morphological suite, richness and variety of speleothems and mineral infillings. Although the mineralogy of speleothems and minerals related to hypogene morphologies has been studied and described, the existence of minerals derived from guano deposits was still poorly investigated. The cave hosted bat colonies until the collapse of its natural entrances, circa 2.4 My ago, since then until its discovery in 1968, the cave remained sealed. These particular environmental conditions, kept along millennia, helped the interaction of guano-related leachates with the bedrock and clay deposits provoking dissolution and mineral precipitation. Moreover, thanks to the discovery of guano-associated cave minerals, it has also been possible to determine the presence of morphologies related to ancient guano deposits. In this paper, we report on features caused by bat's biomechanical erosion, bat claws and bat thumb marks and the influence of geobiological modifications caused by guano deposits on stalagmites and fallen boulders, haystack-shaped stalagmites, stalagmites covered in niches and crypto-corrosion features on fallen boulders. In addition, an array of guanorelated minerals is reported, being phosphates the most abundant mineral group identified, underlining the broad presence of fluorapatite from all the studied sites. Among the oxides and hydroxides, nordstrandite, gibbsite and todorokite are especially common. Finally, connections between microclimatic conditions in the cave and the location of bat roosting and breeding sites are discussed. littoral karstic cave,

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“…The Gcwihaba Cave is a Botswana national monument and is being considered for UNESCO World Heritage site nomination. It is a spectacular geographical formation located in the Okavango basin, to the north-western edge of Botswana (coordinates: -20.025056, 21.357639) ( Mbaiwa & Sakuze 2009 , Dandurand et al 2019 , Mazebedi & Hesselberg 2020 ). The cave was formed from rocks primarily composed of calcium magnesium carbonate or dolomite.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aspergillus diversity from the Gcwihaba Cave in Botswana and description of one new species

Visagie

Goodwell

Nkwe

2021

Fungal Systematics and Evolution

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A fungal survey of the Gcwihaba Cave from Botswana found Aspergillus to be one of the more common fungal genera isolated. The 81 Aspergillus strains were identified using CaM sequences and comparing these to a curated reference dataset. Nineteen species were identified representing eight sections (sections Candidi, Circumdati, Flavi, Flavipedes, Nidulantes, Nigri, Terrei and Usti). One strain could not be identified. Morphological characterisation and multigene phylogenetic analyses confirmed it as a new species in section Flavipedes and we introduce it below as A. okavangoensis. The new species is most similar to A. iizukae, both producing conidiophores with vesicles typically wider than 20 µm. The new species, however, does not produce Hülle cells and its colonies grow slower than those of A. iizukae on CYA at 37 °C (14–15 vs 18–21 mm) and CREA (15–16 vs 23–41mm).

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Biogenic corrosion caused by bats in Drotsky's Cave (the Gcwihaba Hills, NW Botswana)

Cited by 20 publications

References 35 publications

A preliminary survey of the abundance, diversity and distribution of terrestrial macroinvertebrates of Gcwihaba cave, northwest Botswana

A preliminary survey of the abundance, diversity and distribution of terrestrial macroinvertebrates of Gcwihaba cave, northwest Botswana

Morphological and mineralogical evidence for ancient bat presence in Cova des Pas de Vallgornera (Llucmajor, Mallorca, Western Mediterranean)

Aspergillus diversity from the Gcwihaba Cave in Botswana and description of one new species

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