New light in the dark - a proposed multidisciplinary framework for studying functional ecology of groundwater fauna

The Science of the Total Environment
Mattia SaccòKliti Grice

Abstract

Groundwaters provide the vast majority of unfrozen freshwater resources on the planet, but our knowledge of subsurface ecosystems is surprisingly limited. Stygofauna, or stygobionts -subterranean obligate aquatic animals - provide ecosystem services such as grazing biofilms and maintaining water quality, but we know little about how their ecosystems function. The cryptic nature of groundwaters, together with the high degree of local endemism and stygofaunal site-specific adaptations, represent major obstacles for the field. To overcome these challenges, and integrate biodiversity and ecosystem function, requires a holistic design drawing on classical ecology, taxonomy, molecular ecology and geochemistry. This study presents an approach based on the integration of existing concepts in groundwater ecology with three more novel scientific techniques: compound specific stable isotope analysis (CSIA) of amino acids, radiocarbon analysis (14C) and DNA analyses of environmental samples, stygofauna and gut contents. The combination of these techniques allows elucidation of aspects of ecosystem function that are often obscured in small invertebrates and cryptic systems. Carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) CSIA provides a linkage between b...Continue Reading

Citations

Oct 17, 2019·PloS One·Mattia SaccòKliti Grice
Dec 6, 2019·Chemosphere·Andrea Castaño-SánchezAna Sofia P S Reboleira
May 14, 2021·Chemosphere·Andrea Castaño-SánchezAna Sofia P S Reboleira
Jul 31, 2021·The Science of the Total Environment·Stefanie OberprielerJenny Davis
Jan 23, 2022·The Science of the Total Environment·Mattia SaccòNicole E White

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