Sulfidic Habitats in the Gypsum Karst System of Monte Conca (Italy) Host a Chemoautotrophically Supported Invertebrate Community

Giuseppe Nicolosi, Sandro Galdenzi, Maria Anna Messina, Ana Z. Miller, Salvatore Petralia, Serban M. Sarbu and Marco Isaia
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Giuseppe Nicolosi: Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, 10124 Torino, Italy
Sandro Galdenzi: Scuola di Scienze e Tecnologie—Sezione di Geologia, Università di Camerino, 62032 Camerino, Italy
Maria Anna Messina: Centro Speleologico Etneo, 95123 Catania, Italy
Ana Z. Miller: Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Sevilla, IRNAS-CSIC, 41012 Sevilla, Spain
Salvatore Petralia: Centro Speleologico Etneo, 95123 Catania, Italy
Serban M. Sarbu: Emil Racoviţă Institute of Speleology, Str. Frumoasa nr. 31, 010986 Bucureşti, Romania
Marco Isaia: Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, 10124 Torino, Italy

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 5, 1-13

Abstract: The great diversity of the invertebrate community thriving in the deepest sections of the gypsum karst system of the Monte Conca sinkhole (Sicily, Italy) suggests the existence of a complex food web associated with a sulfidic pool and chemoautotrophic microbial activity. To shed light on the peculiarity of this biological assemblage, we investigated the species composition of the invertebrate community and surveyed trophic interactions by stable isotope analysis. The faunal investigation conducted by visual censuses and hand sampling methods led to the discovery of a structured biological assemblage composed of both subterranean specialized and non-specialized species, encompassing all trophic levels. The community was remarkably diverse in the sulfidic habitat and differed from other non-sulfidic habitats within the cave in terms of stable isotope ratios. This pattern suggests the presence of a significant chemoautotrophic support by the microbial communities to the local food web, especially during the dry season when the organic input from the surface is minimal. However, when large volumes of water enter the cave due to local agricultural activities (i.e., irrigation) or extreme precipitation events, the sulfidic habitat of the cave is flooded, inhibiting the local autotrophic production and threatening the conservation of the entire ecosystem.

Keywords: gypsum cave; stable isotope ecology; food web analysis; cave-dwelling fauna; sulfide; ecosystem conservation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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