Bermuda’s Walsingham Caves: A Global Hotspot for Anchialine Stygobionts

Bermuda is an Eocene age volcanic island in the western North Atlantic, entirely capped by Pleistocene eolian limestone. The oldest and most highly karstified limestone is a 2 km2 outcrop of the Walsingham Formation containing most of the island’s 150+ caves. Extensive networks of submerged cave pas...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Diversity (Basel) 2021-08, Vol.13 (8), p.352
Main Authors: Iliffe, Thomas M., Calderón-Gutiérrez, Fernando
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biodiversity
Cavernicolous species
Caves
conservation
Coral reefs
Crustaceans
Dumping
ecology
Endangered species
Endemic species
Eocene
Fauna
Geographical distribution
Groundwater
Hot spots (geology)
Invertebrates
Limestone
Outcrops
Passageways
Pleistocene
Population density
Quarries
Saline water
Salinity
Sea level
seamount
Seawater
Volcanic islands
Water pollution
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Bermuda is an Eocene age volcanic island in the western North Atlantic, entirely capped by Pleistocene eolian limestone. The oldest and most highly karstified limestone is a 2 km2 outcrop of the Walsingham Formation containing most of the island’s 150+ caves. Extensive networks of submerged cave passageways, flooded by saltwater, extend under the island. In the early 1980s, cave divers initially discovered an exceptionally rich and diverse anchialine community inhabiting deeper sections of the caves. The fauna inhabiting caves in the Walsingham Tract consists of 78 described species of cave-dwelling invertebrates, including 63 stygobionts and 15 stygophiles. Thus, it represents one of the world’s top hotspots of subterranean biodiversity. Of the anchialine fauna, 65 of the 78 species are endemic to Bermuda, while 66 of the 78 are crustaceans. The majority of the cave species are limited in their distribution to just one or only a few adjacent caves. Due to Bermuda’s high population density, water pollution, construction, limestone quarries, and trash dumping produce severe pressures on cave fauna and groundwater health. Consequently, the IUCN Red List includes 25 of Bermuda’s stygobiont species as critically endangered.
ISSN:1424-2818
1424-2818
DOI:10.3390/d13080352