A Chemoautotrophically Based Cave Ecosystem

Microbial mats discovered in a ground-water ecosystem in southern Romania contain chemoautotrophic bacteria that fix inorganic carbon, using hydrogen sulfide as an energy source. Analysis of stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes showed that this chemoautotrophic production is the food base for 48 spec...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 1996-06, Vol.272 (5270), p.1953-1955
Main Authors: Sarbu, Serban M., Kane, Thomas C., Kinkle, Brian K.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Arthropoda
Biological and medical sciences
Biotic communities
Carbon
Carbon dioxide
Cave animals
Cave fauna
Caves
Community Relations
Discovery and exploration
Ecosystems
Endemic species
Freshwater
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Groundwater
Invertebrates
Isotopes
Marine ecosystems
Nitrogen
Particular ecosystems
Seas
Synecology
Terrestrial ecosystems
Water
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Summary:Microbial mats discovered in a ground-water ecosystem in southern Romania contain chemoautotrophic bacteria that fix inorganic carbon, using hydrogen sulfide as an energy source. Analysis of stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes showed that this chemoautotrophic production is the food base for 48 species of cave-adapted terrestrial and aquatic invertebrates, 33 of which are endemic to this ecosystem. This is the only cave ecosystem known to be supported by in situ autotrophic production, and it contains the only terrestrial community known to be chemoautotrophically based.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.272.5270.1953