Long-term Monitoring of Aquatic Biota Using Occupancy Modeling

Monitoring populations of organisms over time is difficult even under the best circumstances; this is especially true of cave organisms. Cave organisms may not be detected during a monitoring survey even though they may be present. Indeed, detectability, i.e., the probability of detecting target taxa during a survey given they’re present at the site, undoubtedly varies among cave habitats (e.g., terrestrial versus aquatic) and cave organisms (e.g., cave beetles versus cave fish). However, to make reliable inferences regarding the relationship between the probability a sampling site is occupied by a cave organism (i.e., occupancy) and abiotic/ biotic factors that affect it requires analyses of imperfect detection. Detectability can be used to model occupancy which can, in turn, be used as a surrogate for abundance. The proportion of sites occupied by the target taxon can be used as a variable to characterize the status of purportedly sensitive cave aquatic ecosystems

The Cave Beetle Neaphaenops tellkampfi Erichson: Relationships Within and Among Related Genera Using Molecular Data

Studies of North American cave beetle systematics have been based primarily on morphology. This project analyzes the relationships and validity of the four subspecies of the monotypic Neaphaenops based on monophyly, as well as relationships with the remaining four eastern N.A. cave beetle genera (Pseudanophthalmus, Nelsonites, Darlingtonea, and Ameroduvalius) using molecular methods. This study utilized 39 beetle samples collected from 27 Kentucky caves and one outgroup accessed from GenBank. Evidence for phylogenetic hypotheses is based on sequences of one nuclear protein-coding gene (arginine kinase) and one mitochondrial gene (CO1). Analyses support Neaphaenops as sister to all other taxa. One subspecies of Neaphaenops is valid, a second possibly so, and the other two are not. All tested genera are monophyletic except for Pseudanophthalmus; Nelsonites appears to be a derived clade of Pseudanophthalmus

Foraging ecology of the cave cricket Hadenoecus subterraneus: Effects of climate, ontogeny, and predation.

Foraging ecology of the cave cricket Hadenoecus subterraneus: Effects of climate, ontogeny, and predation

Mammoth Cave Ecology

Park specialists and participants explored the ecological aspects of surface and subsurface locations in Mammoth Cave National Park. The trip focused on the interconnected nature of surface and subsurface ecosystems in a karst landscape, resource protection issues, and long-term monitoring strategies being implemented at Mammoth Cave National Park. Examples discussed included regional and local human influences, processes linking surface and subsurface ecosystems, known subsurface communities, and potential vital signs. Leaders: Kurt Helf, Ecologist, Cumberland Piedmont Network, Rick Olson, Ecologist, Mammoth Cave National Park, and Rick Toomey, Cave Resource Management Specialist, Mammoth Cave National Par

A guide to central place effects in foraging.

We develop a general patch-use model of central place foraging, which subsumes and extends several previous models. The model produces a catalog of central place effects predicting how distance from a central place influences the costs and benefits of foraging, load-size, quitting harvest rates, and giving-up densities. In the model, we separate between costs that are load-size dependent, i.e. a direct effect of the size of the load, and load-size independent effects, such as correlations between distance and patch qualities. We also distinguish between predictions of between- and within-environment comparisons. Foraging costs, giving-up densities and quitting harvest rates should almost always increase with distance with these effects amplified by increases in metabolic costs, predation risk and load-costs. With respect to load-size: when comparing foraging in patches within an environment, we should often expect smaller loads to be taken from distant patches (negative distance-load correlation). However, when comparing between environments, there should be a positive correlation between average distance and load-size

National Park Service Cave Ecology Inventory And Monitoring Framework

A team developed the Cave Ecology Inventory and Monitoring Framework for National Park Service (NPS) units. It contains information for NPS cave managers across the United States to determine how to inventory and monitor cave ecology. Due to the wide geographical scope of NPS caves and their many different types, the document does not prescribe exact protocols. Instead, it provides guidance for what types of inventory and monitoring are possible, a framework for deciding how to prioritize inventory and monitoring activities, and references to specific protocols that are already in place at NPS cave parks. Keywords: cave ecology, cave microbiology, monitoring, inventory, cave and kars