13. 3 Main Ecosystems:
EPIGEAN ZONE (entrance): smallest and located in the
front of the cave. Home to animals such as:
raccoons, pack rats, snakes, bears and porcupines.
ENDOGEAN ZONE (twilight): behind the entrance of
cave. It is darker and cooler. Animals that live there are
called troglophiles (“cave lovers”) such as
bats, owls, beetles and salamanders.
TRYPOGEAN ZONE (dark): No light what so ever. It is
cool and wet year around. Animals that live in this zone
are troglobites. Examples are blind crayfish, giant cave
centipedes, eyeless shrimp, glowworms and spiders that
do not spin webs.
14. There are more than 7,000
known species of troglobites.
They have no eyes but other
sharp senses.
Can live weeks and even
months without eating.
Some have life spans of more
than 100 years.
Example:
~ Glowworms - have glands
in mouth that create silk.
~ Bats - a key species in the
ecosystem of a cave.
15. There are more than
1,100 different species
of bats in the world.
Their guano
(droppings) provides
food for a variety of
creatures, like crabs
and
cockroaches, which is
food for the giant
centipedes. If a bat is
awaken it is at risk of
starvation and death.
16. Problems?
Caves can be harmed by things
that happen on the earth's
surface.
Polluted water can carry
sewage and chemicals from
factories or farms into caves.
Dams can cause lakes or rivers
to rise, filling nearby caves.
Animals living in these caves
may drown. Speleothems stop
growing. The caves can no
longer be visited or studied.
Most cave damage, however, is
done by careless or thoughtless
visitors. some people dump
their trash in caves. Others
paint cave walls, carve their
names on rocks, or break
speleothems. In a few
seconds, vandals can destroy
the beauty of a cave that took
hundreds of thousands of years
to form
17. The most dramatic declines
in macroscopic cave faunas
were caused by the direct
disturbance and killing of
bats and massive kills of
stygobites from water
projects, sewage, and
chemicals. Perhaps six cave
species became extinct as a
result of human activities, but
other extinctions may have
occurred. Many species of
bats, cavefishes, and
crustaceans cannot be found
in their historic sites today.
18. Clean up after yourself!
Don’t shine light on the animals!
Don’t tag on the walls.
Solution
19. Work Cited
Types of Caves pictures: Google images
Caves Located: http://www.travelet.com/2010/02/10-awesome-caves-
of-the-world/
Solution: they can visit American Cave Conservation Association :
http://www.cavern.org
http://www.cave-research.org
Problems :
http://www.utexas.edu/tmm/sponsored_sites/biospeleology/pdf/2006%2
0cavebio%20issues.pdf
Elliot William R. (2005) Critical Issues in Cave Biology. (35-38).
Solution :
http://www.scavalon.be/avalonuk/protection/protection_DIY.htm
http://www.cavern.org/acca/aboutacca.php
