Tourism effects on the subterranean fauna in a Central American cave

Abstract

Tourism activity affects the cave's physical environment in several ways, such as damaging speleothems, altering the cave structure for ease of access, and the shifting of cave microclimate. Nevertheless, it is less clear how the pressure of touristic activities affects the cave fauna. This study aimed to investigate the effects from tourism activities on the cave invertebrate fauna from Gruta de Lanquín Cave (Alta Verapaz, Guatemala). For this, quadrats were placed throughout the cave, where invertebrates were sampled and substrate features were measured. Results showed that the community structure differed among touristic and non‐touristic areas of the cave and the troglobitic species are structured differently than the rest of the invertebrate community in the cave. It was detected that the pathways designated for touristic use have different substrate features than their adjacent areas. In order to maintain the conservation of the invertebrate species, several management recommendations are provided, such as determining a well‐established walking path that avoids cave microhabitats and the maintenance of a supervised guided tour.

The Present and Future of Insect Biodiversity Conservation in the Neotropics: Policy Gaps and Recommendations

“…In addition, the incorporation of insect monitoring as a facet of eco-certification standards would allow for the evaluation of species recovery. However, this also extends to other sectors that impact insects, including mining, infrastructure and even tourism (Noriega et al 2020 ; Silva et al 2020 ; Pachecho et al 2021 ). Fourthly, appropriate recognition of the non-fungible value of insect biodiversity in offsetting and restoration schemes, and protection of insect-critical habitats by PES strategies also holds excellent conservation potential.…”

“…For instance, the conservation of representatives from higher taxa ( e.g., mammals) does not necessarily ensure the preservation of other taxa (Roberge and Angelstam 2004 ). This is particularly true where species umbrellas do not directly address the specific threats to a group, such as tourism in cave microhabitats (Pacheco et al 2021 ) or pesticide use (Sánchez-Bayo 2014 ). It also must be recognised that insects themselves can work as umbrella species (Pérez-Espona 2021 ; Fierro and Vergara 2019 ; Whiteman and Sites 2008 ), although in practice this may not occur owing to their lack of “flagship” characteristics (Simberloff 1998 ).…”

“…Insects are responsible for a wide range of functional roles within the ecosystem, contributing to the ecosystem service framework (Metcalfe et al 2014;Noriega et al 2018;Ollerton 2021;Seibold et al 2021). These include conventional services such as pollination (Klein et al 2007;Gallai et al 2009;Klatt et al 2014) and dung degradation which maintains soil fertility and controls pests (Nichols et al 2008).…”

Stygobiotic isopod Stenasellus sp. in Sarongge Jompong cave, Tasikmalaya karst area, Indonesia

“…Many studies have proven that human visits to cavesparticularly with large numbers of people and extensive duration of exploration -can significantly increase air temperature and CO 2 levels (Šebela and Turk 2014;Kurniawan et al 2018). To date, environmental changes induced by human visits have been widely reported as one of the leading causes of cave-dwelling fauna decline, particularly those belonging to stygobites and troglobites (Macud and Nuneza 2014;Kurniawan and Rahmadi 2019;Pacheco et al 2020;Constantin et al 2021). In addition, other potential threats are land-use changes around the caves which are currently covered by forests that significantly contribute to provisioning percolating water into cave environments.…”

Population structure and habitat preference of cave crickets (<i>Rhaphidophora</i> sp. (Orthoptera: Rhaphidophoridae)) in Sanghyang Kenit cave, Citatah karst area, West Java

“…Thus, many caves are developed as show caves, i.e., natural caves opened to public as tourist attractions. Several previous studies revealed that intense human visits to caves could alter cave microclimate conditions, including increased air temperature and CO 2 concentration, and aerobiological content (Fernandez-Cortes et al 2011;Pacheco et al 2020). Those environmental changes can bring serious menace for cave-dwelling animals resulting in population decrease and biodiversity loss.…”