Abstract
Phototrophic organisms live in cave entrances, where they can obtain enough sunlight for their growth, and inside show caves, around lamps as lampenflora. At specific points, light and microclimatic conditions in cave entrances support life under extreme, dimly lit conditions, providing a refuge for certain plants and creating significant diversity hotspots for some cyanobacteria. Physiological and morphocytological adaptations, as well as etiolated growth of these organisms in caves, are common. Phototrophs in caves have an impact on litholysis and lithogenesis. Biocalcified formations include calcified plant thalli, diverse forms of tuffaceous stalactites and stromatolitic stalagmites. Sun-illuminated dry and submerged cave entrances including cenotes, ice caves and lava tubes are generally understudied. In comparison to phototrophic communities at cave entrances, the lampenflora is less diverse. In show caves and prehistoric cave sites, lampenflora represents a major threat to sensitive surfaces. In addition to imposing a green patina on rock-art paintings, its metabolic products sustain bacteria and fungi within the biofilm that are the major active bio-weathering agents. Eukaryotic algae generally dominate in lampenflora communities. Growth of lampenflora in underground locations does not cease even under lamps with altered emission spectra. Regular removal of the growth, accompanied by a restricted lighting regime, prevents further expansion of lampenflora.
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Acknowledgements
The author acknowledges the financial support from the Slovenian Research Agency (research core funding No. P6-0119), and Angel Ginés, Tina Eleršek and Andreea Oarga-Mulec for their valuable comments on an earlier version of the manuscript, and David Lowe for comments and language editing assistance.
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Mulec, J. (2018). Phototrophs in Caves. In: Moldovan, O., Kováč, Ľ., Halse, S. (eds) Cave Ecology. Ecological Studies, vol 235. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98852-8_6
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