Food sources of selected terrestrial cave arthropods

By

Smrž, Jaroslav
Kováč, Ľubomír
Mikeš, Jaromír
Šustr, Vladimír
Lukešová, Alena
Tajovský, Karel, 1958-
Nováková, Alena
Režňáková, Petra

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2015

Original Publication

Subterranean Biology

Volume

16

Pages

37-46

Subjects

Acari , Caves , Collembola , Diplopoda , feeding habits , Isopoda

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/subtbiol.16.8609

 

Abstract

As caves represent an extreme biotope with limited food sources, one might expect cave animal communities to exhibit low feeding specialization and to consume generally whatever organic matter is available. To test this hypothesis, we studied the feeding habits of several arthropod species in Slovakian and Romanian caves. A microanatomical approach utilizing histological methods was selected for this study. While saprophagous animals dominated, our study revealed variability within this nutritional group. Preferences ranged from fungal propagules (for the millipede Trachysphaera costata) to bacteria on bat guano (for the oribatid mite Pantelozetes cavaticus) and to cyanobacteria (for the microwhip scorpion Eukoenenia spelaea). The terrestrial isopod Mesoniscus graniger consumed a mixture of organic and inorganic substrates with plant material in various caves. These findings confirm an adaptability and phenoplasticity and, hence, a variability of characteristics developing under the pressure of extreme environmental factors.