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Hello everyone!
I pleased to invite you to the official site of Central Asian Karstic-Speleological commission ("Kaspeko")
There, we regularly publish reports about our expeditions, articles and reports on speleotopics, lecture course for instructors, photos etc. ...
Dear Colleagues, This is to draw your attention to several recent publications added to KarstBase, relevant to hypogenic karst/speleogenesis: Corrosion of limestone tablets in sulfidic ground-water: measurements and speleogenetic implications Galdenzi,
A recent publication of Spanish researchers describes the biology of Krubera Cave, including the deepest terrestrial animal ever found:
Jordana, Rafael; Baquero, Enrique; Reboleira, Sofía and Sendra, Alberto. ...
Exhibition dedicated to caves is taking place in the Vienna Natural History Museum
The exhibition at the Natural History Museum presents the surprising variety of caves and cave formations such as stalactites and various crystals. ...
Did you know?
That cimolite is a cave mineral - al4(sio2)9(oh)12 [11].?
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KarstBase a bibliography database in karst and cave science.
Featured articles from Cave & Karst Science Journals
An account of the researches carried out on the algae living in the caves of Hungary is given. The results of the investigations concerning the algal flora of the Baradla, Peace, Abaliget, Pàlvòlgy, Kòlyuk caves are enumerated. Theories about the possible energy source utilized by these algae living in the complete darkness of caves such as radiation, symbiosis, chemosynthesis or auxothrophy are discussed. The question of the settling of algae into the caves is debated.
Geographically, the Planinsko Polje field is one of the most preserved cultural regions of the Karstic landscape of inner Slovenia and as such a protected area of national importance. It can be recognized by its exceptional features and landmarks of material and non-material heritage and by its high-quality symbiosis of all ingredients in its space. The research of sound in the area of Planinsko Polje shows that it is an important, preserved constituent of natural and cultural heritage. Its manifestations are also interesting as indicators of its actual endangerment. Key words: sound, non-material heritage, cultural region, protected area.
The symbiosis between man and caves usually causes a mixture of fascination and respect. When looking back at the history of Antique civilizations, there are references to this relationship made in almost all cases. Caves were men’s first home, their first meeting places, shelters, and ritualistic places. Nowadays, even with the fear of darkness and closed areas that is so usual, that old-time connection still exists. In the contemporary world, some places still hold a special sacred meaning to many social groups. Thus, the pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, to the shrine of Fatima in Portugal, to the Ganges River in India or to the cave church of Bom Jesus da Lapa in the interior of Bahia State, Brazil, are closely related when it comes to spiritual complicity. These sites play a key role as a collective reference of human sacrifice in an increasingly automated, technical and individualistic world much more than as strengthers of the religious faith. In Brazil there are many important religious sites. This paper mentions important sites specifically from the northeastern region. The examples are the Sanctuary of Bom Jesus da Lapa, the Cave of Patamuté, the Brejoes Cave, and the Milagrosa Cave. All these examples show clear manifestations of popular traditions and year after year illustrate the important roles that caves play in regional Brazilian societies. This paper is not intended to diminish the physical studies of karst areas but it wants to emphasize the importance of the human variable, especially in developing countries, for the relationship between karst and caves in the popular tradition, transmitted by means of oral stories and folk beliefs goes beyond the scientific advances.
Symbioses involving animals and chemoautotrophic bacteria form the foundation of entire ecosystems at deep-sea hydrothermal vents and cold seeps, but have so far not been reported in terrestrial or freshwater environments. A rare example of a terrestrial ecosystem sustained by chemoautotrophy is found within the sulfide-rich Frasassi limestone cave complex of central Italy. In this study, we report the discovery of abundant filamentous bacteria on the exoskeleton of Niphargus ictus, a macroinvertebrate endemic to Frasassi. Using 16S rDNA sequencing and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), we show that N. ictus throughout the large cave complex are colonized by a single phylotype of bacteria in the sulfur-oxidizing clade Thiothrix. The epibiont phylotype is distinct from Thiothrix phylotypes that form conspicuous biofilms in the cave streams and pools inhabited by N. ictus. Using a combination of 13C labeling, FISH, and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), we show that the epibiotic Thiothrix are autotrophic, establishing the first known example of a non-marine chemoautotroph-animal symbiosis. Conditions supporting chemoautotrophy, and the N. ictus-Thiothrix association, likely commenced in the Frasassi cave complex between 350 000 and 1 million years ago. Therefore, the N. ictus-Thiothrix symbiosis is probably significantly younger than marine chemoautotrophic symbioses, many of which have been evolving for tens to hundreds of million years.