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Ćwieląg-Piasecka I, Łyczko J, Jamroz E, Kocowicz A, Kawałko D. Antioxidant capacity sources of soils under different land uses. Sci Rep 2024; 14:8394. [PMID: 38600181 PMCID: PMC11006951 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-58994-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2024] [Accepted: 04/05/2024] [Indexed: 04/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Antioxidants (AOX) in soils originate mainly from secondary plant metabolites and are pivotal in many redox processes in environment, maintaining soil quality. Still, little is known about the influence of land uses on their accumulation in soil. The aim of the paper was to determine the content of these redox-active compounds in the extracts of A horizons of abandoned fallows, arable and woodland soils. Total antioxidant capacity (TAC) of soils under various uses and vegetation was evaluated in different soil extracts using Folin-Ciocâlteu method. The contribution of humic acids to TAC was determined and antioxidant profiles estimated using the chromatographic GC-MS method. Forest soils exhibited the highest TAC (15.5 mg g-1) and AOX contents (4.34 mg g-1), which were positively correlated with soil organic carbon content. It was estimated that humic acids contribute to over 50% of TAC in soils. The main phenolics in woodland A horizons were isovanillic and p-hydroxybenzoic acid (p-HA), while esculetin and p-HA predominated in the abandoned fallows due to the prevalence of herbaceous vegetation. Cultivated soils were the most abundant in p-HA (56.42%). In the studied topsoils, there were considerable amounts of aliphatic organic matter, which role in redox processes should be further evaluated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irmina Ćwieląg-Piasecka
- Institute of Soil Science, Plant Nutrition and Environmental Protection, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Grunwaldzka 53 St., 50-357, Wroclaw, Poland.
| | - Jacek Łyczko
- Department of Food Chemistry and Biocatalysis, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Norwida 25, 53-375, Wrocław, Poland
| | - Elżbieta Jamroz
- Institute of Soil Science, Plant Nutrition and Environmental Protection, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Grunwaldzka 53 St., 50-357, Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Andrzej Kocowicz
- Institute of Soil Science, Plant Nutrition and Environmental Protection, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Grunwaldzka 53 St., 50-357, Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Dorota Kawałko
- Institute of Soil Science, Plant Nutrition and Environmental Protection, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Grunwaldzka 53 St., 50-357, Wroclaw, Poland
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Biagioli F, Coleine C, Delgado-Baquerizo M, Feng Y, Saiz-Jimenez C, Selbmann L. Outdoor climate drives diversity patterns of dominant microbial taxa in caves worldwide. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 906:167674. [PMID: 37813267 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167674] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2023] [Revised: 10/06/2023] [Accepted: 10/06/2023] [Indexed: 10/11/2023]
Abstract
The cave microbiota is assumed to be shaped by indoor microclimate, biotic and abiotic factors, which are largely dependent from outside environmental conditions; however, this knowledge is available at local or regional scales only. To address this knowledge gap, we reanalyzed over 1050 bacterial and fungal communities of caves worldwide, and found that outdoor temperature and rainfall play a critical role in explaining differences in microbial diversity patterns of global caves, selecting specific dominant taxa across gradients of growing aridity conditions with arid climate leading to a reduction in total cave microbial diversity. Moreover, we found that fungal (from 186 to 1908 taxa) and bacterial (from 467 to 1619 taxa) diversity increased under temperate-tropical and temperate-continental climatic regions, respectively, highlighting an opposite preference for the two microbial compartments. We hypothesized that outdoor geographical, climatic variables and lithology are critical epistatic drivers in assembling microbial communities and their dominant taxa, whose ecological responses could be useful to predict the fate of these subterranean environments in the context of climate change. Our work elucidates the intimate connection between caves microbiota and surface ecosystems highlighting the sensitivity of cave microbial communities to climatic changes and environmental degradation. This work also provides a natural benchmark for the biogeographic information for caves globally and for protection strategies aiming at conservation of underground environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federico Biagioli
- Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, University of Tuscia, 01100 Viterbo, Italy
| | - Claudia Coleine
- Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, University of Tuscia, 01100 Viterbo, Italy.
| | - Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo
- Laboratorio de Biodiversidad y Funcionamiento Ecosistémico, Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Sevilla (IRNAS), CSIC, Av. Reina Mercedes 10, E-41012 Sevilla, Spain.
| | - Youzhi Feng
- State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 210006 Nanjing, China; Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Solid Organic Waste Resource Utilization, 210095 Nanjing, China
| | - Cesareo Saiz-Jimenez
- Microbiología Ambiental y Patrimonio Cultural, Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Sevilla (IRNAS), CSIC, Av. Reina Mercedes 10, E-41012 Sevilla, Spain
| | - Laura Selbmann
- Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, University of Tuscia, 01100 Viterbo, Italy; Mycological Section, Italian Antarctic National Museum (MNA), Via al Porto Antico, 16128 Genoa, Italy
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Gogoleva N, Chervyatsova O, Balkin A, Kuzmina L, Shagimardanova E, Kiseleva D, Gogolev Y. Microbial tapestry of the Shulgan-Tash cave (Southern Ural, Russia): influences of environmental factors on the taxonomic composition of the cave biofilms. ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOME 2023; 18:82. [PMID: 37990336 PMCID: PMC10662634 DOI: 10.1186/s40793-023-00538-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2023] [Accepted: 11/09/2023] [Indexed: 11/23/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cave biotopes are characterized by stable low temperatures, high humidity, and scarcity of organic substrates. Despite the harsh oligotrophic conditions, they are often inhabited by rich microbial communities. Abundant fouling with a wide range of morphology and coloration of colonies covers the walls of the Shulgan-Tash cave in the Southern Urals. This cave is also famous for the unique Paleolithic painting discovered in the middle of the last century. We aimed to investigate the diversity, distribution, and potential impact of these biofilms on the cave's Paleolithic paintings, while exploring how environmental factors influence the microbial communities within the cave. RESULTS The cave's biofilm morphotypes were categorized into three types based on the ultrastructural similarities. Molecular taxonomic analysis identified two main clusters of microbial communities, with Actinobacteria dominating in most of them and a unique "CaveCurd" community with Gammaproteobacteria prevalent in the deepest cave sections. The species composition of these biofilms reflects changes in environmental conditions, such as substrate composition, temperature, humidity, ventilation, and CO2 content. Additionally, it was observed that cave biofilms contribute to biocorrosion on cave wall surfaces. CONCLUSIONS The Shulgan-Tash cave presents an intriguing example of a stable extreme ecosystem with diverse microbiota. However, the intense dissolution and deposition of carbonates caused by Actinobacteria pose a potential threat to the preservation of the cave's ancient rock paintings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalia Gogoleva
- Research Department for Limnology, Mondsee, Universität Innsbruck, Mondsee, 5310, Austria.
- Institute of Fundamental Medicine and Biology, Kazan Federal University, Kazan, 420111, Russia.
| | | | - Alexander Balkin
- Institute of Fundamental Medicine and Biology, Kazan Federal University, Kazan, 420111, Russia
- Institute for Cellular and Intracellular Symbiosis, Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Orenburg, 460000, Russia
| | - Lyudmila Kuzmina
- Ufa Institute of Biology, Ufa Federal Research Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, Ufa, 450054, Russia
| | - Elena Shagimardanova
- Institute of Fundamental Medicine and Biology, Kazan Federal University, Kazan, 420111, Russia
- Loginov Moscow Clinical Scientific Center, Moscow, 111123, Russia
| | - Daria Kiseleva
- Institute of Geology and Geochemistry, Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Ekaterinburg, 620016, Russia
- Institute of Fundamental Education, Ural Federal University named after the first President of Russia B.N. Yeltsin, Ekaterinburg, 620002, Russia
| | - Yuri Gogolev
- Institute of Fundamental Medicine and Biology, Kazan Federal University, Kazan, 420111, Russia
- Kazan Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Federal Research Center "Kazan Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences", Kazan, 420111, Russia
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Reboleira ASPS, Eusébio RP. Cave-adapted millipedes from Portugal: species conservation profiles. Biodivers Data J 2023; 11:e110382. [PMID: 38312344 PMCID: PMC10838078 DOI: 10.3897/bdj.11.e110382] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2023] [Accepted: 09/19/2023] [Indexed: 02/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Background Amongst the cave-dwelling millipedes (Diplopoda), there are several endemic species in Portugal with a very small geographical distribution. These species play an important role in the decomposition of organic matter in subterranean ecosystems and are vulnerable to disturbance from human activities, such as habitat destruction, pollution infiltrating from the surface and cave tourism. New information We present the IUCN Red List profiles for cave-adapted millipedes (Diplopoda) from Portugal and propose conservation measures to prevent extinction. Overall, cave-adapted millipedes from Portugal represent an endemic part of the country's biodiversity and conservation efforts will help maintain the delicate ecological balance of subterranean ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Sofia P S Reboleira
- Departamento de Biologia Animal and Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes (cE3c) & CHANGE - Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal Departamento de Biologia Animal and Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes (cE3c) & CHANGE - Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa Lisbon Portugal
- Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen Copenhagen Denmark
| | - Rita P Eusébio
- Departamento de Biologia Animal and Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes (cE3c) & CHANGE - Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal Departamento de Biologia Animal and Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes (cE3c) & CHANGE - Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa Lisbon Portugal
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Riddell JL, Downey AR, Vesper DJ, Padilla IY. Total organic carbon concentrations in clastic cave sediments from Butler Cave, Virginia, USA: implications for contaminant fate and transport. ENVIRONMENTAL EARTH SCIENCES 2023; 82:231. [PMID: 38078192 PMCID: PMC10705820 DOI: 10.1007/s12665-023-10893-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2022] [Accepted: 04/06/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2024]
Abstract
Clastic cave deposits are representative of sediments throughout the karst aquifer and thus are an abundant and accessible resource through which to study the chemistry of karst aquifer. Clastic cave sediments are attributed to depositional facies based on cave location, sorting, and particle size. These facies settings may influence different chemical parameters of the sediments, like concentrations of total organic carbon (TOC). The TOC concentrations in clastic cave sediments have not been well constrained nor has the role of clastic sediments in contaminant fate and transport through karst systems been well described. In this study, particle size, TOC, and total nitrogen were measured in sediments representing different facies in Butler Cave, Virginia, USA. TOC concentrations ranged from 0.08 - 0.87 weight percent and C:N molar ratio ranged from 3 - 15, indicating a possible terrestrial source of organic carbon in these sediments. The diamicton facies was sandier and but had similar TOC concentrations compared to the channel facies. TOC concentrations measured in Butler Cave were within the same range as those observed in above water, eogenetic clastic cave sediments from two caves in Puerto Rico. Estimated retardation factors calculated based on the TOC concentrations in the Butler Cave sediments indicate the range of TOC in this cave could be responsible for 39 - 987% increase in retardation of selected contaminants. This study highlights the importance of measuring the ranges of TOC in clastic cave sediments across different facies and their role in contaminant fate and transport.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jill L. Riddell
- West Virginia University Department of Geology and Geography 98 Beechurst Avenue, Morgantown WV 26508
| | - Autum R. Downey
- University of Washington Department of Earth and Space Sciences 4000 15 Avenue NE, Seattle WA 98195
| | - Dorothy J. Vesper
- West Virginia University Department of Geology and Geography 98 Beechurst Avenue, Morgantown WV 26508
| | - Ingrid Y. Padilla
- University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez, Department of Civil Engineering and Surveying, PO Box 9000, Mayagüez, PR 00681
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Perveen I, Johnson BA, Gowda V, Foley B, Okezie S, O’Brien M, Watanabe CMH. Catabolism of the Lipofuscin Cycloretinal by MsP1. Biochemistry 2022; 61:2560-2567. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.biochem.2c00413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Irum Perveen
- Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, United States
| | - Brett A. Johnson
- Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, United States
| | - Vishruth Gowda
- Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, United States
| | - Brendan Foley
- Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, United States
| | - Stephanie Okezie
- Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, United States
| | - Mackenzie O’Brien
- Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, United States
| | - Coran M. H. Watanabe
- Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, United States
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Reboleira AS, Bodawatta KH, Ravn NMR, Lauritzen SE, Skoglund RØ, Poulsen M, Michelsen A, Jønsson KA. Nutrient-limited subarctic caves harbour more diverse and complex bacterial communities than their surface soil. ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOME 2022; 17:41. [PMID: 35941623 PMCID: PMC9361705 DOI: 10.1186/s40793-022-00435-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2022] [Accepted: 07/08/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Subarctic regions are particularly vulnerable to climate change, yet little is known about nutrient availability and biodiversity of their cave ecosystems. Such knowledge is crucial for predicting the vulnerability of these ecosystems to consequences of climate change. Thus, to improve our understanding of life in these habitats, we characterized environmental variables, as well as bacterial and invertebrate communities of six subarctic caves in Northern Norway. RESULTS Only a minuscule diversity of surface-adapted invertebrates were found in these caves. However, the bacterial communities in caves were compositionally different, more diverse and more complex than the nutrient-richer surface soil. Cave soil microbiomes were less variable between caves than between surface communities in the same area, suggesting that the stable cave environments with tougher conditions drive the uniform microbial communities. We also observed only a small proportion of cave bacterial genera originating from the surface, indicating unique cave-adapted microbial communities. Increased diversity within caves may stem from higher niche specialization and levels of interdependencies for nutrient cycling among bacterial taxa in these oligotrophic environments. CONCLUSIONS Taken together this suggest that environmental changes, e.g., faster melting of snow as a result of global warming that could alter nutrient influx, can have a detrimental impact on interactions and dependencies of these complex communities. This comparative exploration of cave and surface microbiomes also lays the foundation to further investigate the long-term environmental variables that shape the biodiversity of these vulnerable ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Sofia Reboleira
- Departamento de Biologia Animal, and Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes (cE3c) & CHANGE - Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, 1749-016, Lisbon, Portugal.
- Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, 2100, Copenhagen East, Denmark.
| | - Kasun H Bodawatta
- Departamento de Biologia Animal, and Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes (cE3c) & CHANGE - Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, 1749-016, Lisbon, Portugal
- Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, 2100, Copenhagen East, Denmark
| | - Nynne M R Ravn
- Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, 2100, Copenhagen East, Denmark
| | - Stein-Erik Lauritzen
- Department of Earth Science, University of Bergen, Allegt. 41, 5007, Bergen, Norway
- Department of Biosciences, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), University of Oslo, 0316, Oslo, Norway
| | | | - Michael Poulsen
- Section for Ecology and Evolution, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, 2100, Copenhagen East, Denmark
| | - Anders Michelsen
- Section for Terrestrial Ecology, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, 2100, Copenhagen East, Denmark
| | - Knud Andreas Jønsson
- Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, 2100, Copenhagen East, Denmark
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Reboleira AS, Eusébio R, Taiti S. Species conservation profiles of cave-adapted terrestrial isopods from Portugal. Biodivers Data J 2022; 10:e78796. [PMID: 35437399 PMCID: PMC8901612 DOI: 10.3897/bdj.10.e78796] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2021] [Accepted: 02/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Terrestrial isopods (Oniscidea) are the most diverse group of troglobionts in caves of continental Portugal. They occur in all karst regions of Portugal, play a major role in decomposition of organic matter in caves and may act as umbrella species for the conservation of all other cave-adapted invertebrates. New information We present the IUCN Red List profiles for the cave-adapted terrestrial isopods from continental Portugal, based on recent distribution data from caves.
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Koner S, Chen JS, Hsu BM, Tan CW, Fan CW, Chen TH, Hussain B, Nagarajan V. Assessment of Carbon Substrate Catabolism Pattern and Functional Metabolic Pathway for Microbiota of Limestone Caves. Microorganisms 2021; 9:microorganisms9081789. [PMID: 34442868 PMCID: PMC8398112 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms9081789] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2021] [Revised: 08/16/2021] [Accepted: 08/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Carbon utilization of bacterial communities is a key factor of the biomineralization process in limestone-rich curst areas. An efficient carbon catabolism of the microbial community is associated with the availability of carbon sources in such an ecological niche. As cave environments promote oligotrophic (carbon source stress) situations, the present study investigated the variations of different carbon substrate utilization patterns of soil and rock microbial communities between outside and inside cave environments in limestone-rich crust topography by Biolog EcoPlate™ assay and categorized their taxonomical structure and predicted functional metabolic pathways based on 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. Community level physiological profiling (CLPP) analysis by Biolog EcoPlate™ assay revealed that microbes from outside of the cave were metabolically active and had higher carbon source utilization rate than the microbial community inside the cave. 16S rRNA amplicon sequence analysis demonstrated, among eight predominant bacterial phylum Planctomycetes, Proteobacteria, Cyanobacteria, and Nitrospirae were predominantly associated with outside-cave samples, whereas Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, Chloroflexi, and Gemmatimonadetes were associated with inside-cave samples. Functional prediction showed bacterial communities both inside and outside of the cave were functionally involved in the metabolism of carbohydrates, amino acids, lipids, xenobiotic compounds, energy metabolism, and environmental information processing. However, the amino acid and carbohydrate metabolic pathways were predominantly linked to the outside-cave samples, while xenobiotic compounds, lipids, other amino acids, and energy metabolism were associated with inside-cave samples. Overall, a positive correlation was observed between Biolog EcoPlate™ assay carbon utilization and the abundance of functional metabolic pathways in this study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Suprokash Koner
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, National Chung Cheng University, Chiayi City 621, Taiwan; (S.K.); (B.H.)
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, National Chung Cheng University, Chiayi City 621, Taiwan; (C.-W.F.); (V.N.)
| | - Jung-Sheng Chen
- Department of Medical Research, E-Da Hospital, Kaohsiung 824, Taiwan;
| | - Bing-Mu Hsu
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, National Chung Cheng University, Chiayi City 621, Taiwan; (C.-W.F.); (V.N.)
- Center for Innovative on Aging Society (CIRAS), National Chung Cheng University, Chiayi City 621, Taiwan
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +886-5272-0411 (ext. 66218)
| | - Chao-Wen Tan
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Ditmanson Medical Foundation Chiayi Christian Hospital, Chiayi City 600, Taiwan;
| | - Cheng-Wei Fan
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, National Chung Cheng University, Chiayi City 621, Taiwan; (C.-W.F.); (V.N.)
| | - Tsung-Hsien Chen
- Department of Internal Medicine, Ditmanson Medical Foundation Chiayi Christian Hospital, Chiayi City 600, Taiwan;
| | - Bashir Hussain
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, National Chung Cheng University, Chiayi City 621, Taiwan; (S.K.); (B.H.)
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, National Chung Cheng University, Chiayi City 621, Taiwan; (C.-W.F.); (V.N.)
| | - Viji Nagarajan
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, National Chung Cheng University, Chiayi City 621, Taiwan; (C.-W.F.); (V.N.)
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Hypogean Communities as Cybernetic Systems: Implications for the Evolution of Cave Biotas. DIVERSITY 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/d12110413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Ramón Margalef proposed in 1968 that ecosystems could be better understood if they were viewed as cybernetic systems. I tested this hypothesis in the case of hypogean ecosystems using available pieces of evidence. I looked on how information on feedbacks, stability, succession, organization, diversity, and energy flows in the hypogean environment fit the cybernetics hypothesis. The results were that there are convincing arguments that the application of the concept of cybernetics in biospeleology can be beneficial to broadening our understanding of cave biota in terms of their structure. I also make the case that this approach can provide more clarity about how cave biota has evolved through time and the implications for their conservation.
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