Abstract
Microbial communities in caves vary from striking microbial mats observed in many lava tubes worldwide, to occasional colonies on the wall, to invisible biofilms on rock walls and ceilings of caves, to microbial end products, such as manganese oxides. The investigations of the last decade, using culture-independent techniques in which we extract DNA from environmental samples and sequence clones to identify organisms present based on their genetic sequence, have revealed a wealth of microbial species never before described. These microorganisms represent a minimally explored treasure trove of organisms that can be impacted by the actions of humans living above caves and exploring within caves. The degree to which we impact cave microbial communities depends on the nature of the cave. Mammoth Cave in Kentucky, USA, and other similar caves, have rivers or streams running through major portions of the cave. Water flowing into caves may either bring plumes of pollutants to many parts of the cave and/or may help to wash away some impact caused by human visitation. Arid-land caves, such as Lechuguilla Cave in New Mexico, USA, that lack much in the way of flowing water, may be subjected to other kinds of impacts. Several strategies have been suggested to lower the impact that we explorers, scientists, and people living above caves have on cave microbial communities in order to preserve them for future study. Cave microbial communities can represent an extremely valuable resource that is worth protecting by modifying our behavior in visiting and living above caves.
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Acknowledgements
Many cavers and fellow scientists over the years have provided immeasurable help in carrying out the various research projects that led to observations that formed the basis for the ideas contained in this manuscript, and in providing leads to new microbial habitats. They include, but are not limited to: Kathy Lavoie, for being my partner in many of the research projects that have begun to explore the impact of human associated bacteria in caves; Amaka Nwagbologu, Jessica Snider, and Elizabeth Lavoie carried out several of the experiments and analyzed data; Kenneth Ingham, for all his great microbe photography; Val Hildreth-Werker and Jim Werker, for photography, engineering, and lots of great research; Andi Hunter, for her invaluable research into the contamination of pools in Lechuguilla Cave; the staff of the Cave Resources Office at Carlsbad Caverns National Park, including Dale Pate, Harry Burgess, and Stan Allison for supporting the project; and Penny Boston and Mike Spilde, with whom I have had many stimulating conversations about microbes. The Charles A. and Anne Morrow Lindbergh Foundation, Mammoth Cave National Park, and T & E, Inc. provided financial support for the human impact studies that were carried out in collaboration with Kathy Lavoie who contributed substantially to the ideas on human impact. Thanks go to Leslie Melim and Kenneth Ingham for insightful comments on the manuscript.
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Northup, D.E. (2011). Managing Microbial Communities in Caves. In: van Beynen, P. (eds) Karst Management. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1207-2_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1207-2_10
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