Cave ecology

Cave ecology studies organisms and ecological processes in caves and other subterranean habitats, where darkness, isolation, and limited food shape communities.

Cave food web: A network of feeding relationships among organisms in a cave. It shows how limited inputs of organic matter support cave communities.
Troglobite: An animal restricted to subterranean habitats and unable to maintain populations outside them. Troglobites are the most cave-dependent members of subterranean communities.
Cave conservation: The protection and management of caves, their physical features, and their living communities. Ecological sensitivity helps determine which cave conditions and populations need protection.
Biodiversity: The variety of life across genes, species, and ecosystems. Incomplete inventories make the full diversity of subterranean life uncertain.
Organic matter: Carbon-containing material produced by living organisms or their remains. Surface-derived organic matter often supplies the energy that caves lack internally.
Troglophile: An animal that can complete its life cycle in caves or suitable surface habitats. Troglophiles use cave resources without being confined to caves.
Karst: A landscape shaped by the dissolution of soluble rock, often containing caves and underground drainage. Karst processes connect cave habitats to water, soils, and surface disturbance.
Biogeography: The study of how organisms and ecosystems are distributed across geographic space and time. Cave species' isolated distributions raise questions about dispersal and historical connections.
Chemolithotrophy: Energy production by organisms that oxidize inorganic compounds. Some subterranean microbes obtain energy without sunlight or imported organic food.
Trogloxene: An animal that regularly uses caves but must leave them to complete its life cycle. Its distinction from permanent residents clarifies cave-community membership.

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