Food Webs in Caves

Venarsky, Michael P.; Huntsman, Brock M.

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-98852-8_14

Cited by 13 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 109 publications

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“…Food webs in caves are simpler and less functionally complex than those in epigean ecosystems due to lower species richness. Subterranean food webs are detritus-based and characterized by bottom-up control 9 – 11 . Such food webs have been inferred from community composition associated with bat guano 12 , 13 and plant roots (see 14 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The food web in a subterranean ecosystem is driven by intraguild predation

Parimuchová

Dušátková

Kováč

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

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Trophic interactions of cave arthropods have been understudied. We used molecular methods (NGS) to decipher the food web in the subterranean ecosystem of the Ardovská Cave (Western Carpathians, Slovakia). We collected five arthropod predators of the species Parasitus loricatus (gamasid mites), Eukoenenia spelaea (palpigrades), Quedius mesomelinus (beetles), and Porrhomma profundum and Centromerus cavernarum (both spiders) and prey belonging to several orders. Various arthropod orders were exploited as prey, and trophic interactions differed among the predators. Linear models were used to compare absolute and relative prey body sizes among the predators. Quedius exploited relatively small prey, while Eukoenenia and Parasitus fed on relatively large prey. Exploitation of eggs or cadavers is discussed. In contrast to previous studies, Eukoenenia was found to be carnivorous. A high proportion of intraguild predation was found in all predators. Intraspecific consumption (most likely cannibalism) was detected only in mites and beetles. Using Pianka’s index, the highest trophic niche overlaps were found between Porrhomma and Parasitus and between Centromerus and Eukoenenia, while the lowest niche overlap was found between Parasitus and Quedius. Contrary to what we expected, the high availability of Diptera and Isopoda as a potential prey in the studied system was not corroborated. Our work demonstrates that intraguild diet plays an important role in predators occupying subterranean ecosystems.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The food web in a subterranean ecosystem is driven by intraguild predation

Parimuchová

Dušátková

Kováč

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

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“…Generally, cave systems have low macroinvertebrate diversity because of the limited variety of food sources at the base of their food webs (Venarsky and Huntsman 2018). Therefore, the low number of macroinvertebrate taxa (10 families) was to be expected especially in an arid landscape of Botswana which may limit the quantity and variety of allochthonous food sources into the cave.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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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“…Energy limitation is considered a primary mechanism influencing both evolutionary and ecological processes in subterranean environments (Venarsky & Huntsman, 2018). However, a more nuanced understanding of subterranean food‐web dynamics (Q23) will require other research actions, including to ( i ) understand the spatial and temporal dynamics of energy resources; ( ii ) compare resource quality with consumers' physiological requirements; and ( iii ) compare consumption rates with resource availability in subterranean habitats with different environmental conditions (e.g.…”

Section: Community Ecologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Fundamental research questions in subterranean biology

et al. 2020

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Five decades ago, a landmark paper in Science titled The Cave Environment heralded caves as ideal natural experimental laboratories in which to develop and address general questions in geology, ecology, biogeography, and evolutionary biology. Although the ‘caves as laboratory’ paradigm has since been advocated by subterranean biologists, there are few examples of studies that successfully translated their results into general principles. The contemporary era of big data, modelling tools, and revolutionary advances in genetics and (meta)genomics provides an opportunity to revisit unresolved questions and challenges, as well as examine promising new avenues of research in subterranean biology. Accordingly, we have developed a roadmap to guide future research endeavours in subterranean biology by adapting a well‐established methodology of ‘horizon scanning’ to identify the highest priority research questions across six subject areas. Based on the expert opinion of 30 scientists from around the globe with complementary expertise and of different academic ages, we assembled an initial list of 258 fundamental questions concentrating on macroecology and microbial ecology, adaptation, evolution, and conservation. Subsequently, through online surveys, 130 subterranean biologists with various backgrounds assisted us in reducing our list to 50 top‐priority questions. These research questions are broad in scope and ready to be addressed in the next decade. We believe this exercise will stimulate research towards a deeper understanding of subterranean biology and foster hypothesis‐driven studies likely to resonate broadly from the traditional boundaries of this field.

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Food Webs in Caves

Cited by 13 publications

References 109 publications

The food web in a subterranean ecosystem is driven by intraguild predation

The food web in a subterranean ecosystem is driven by intraguild predation

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

Fundamental research questions in subterranean biology

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