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"Subterranean"
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Submarine Groundwater Discharge: Updates on Its Measurement Techniques, Geophysical Drivers, Magnitudes, and Effects
The number of studies concerning Submarine Groundwater Discharge (SGD) grew quickly as we entered the 21st century. Many hydrological and oceanographic processes that drive and influence SGD were identified and characterized during this period. These processes included tidal effects on SGD, water and solute fluxes, biogeochemical transformations through the subterranean estuary, and material transport via SGD from land to sea. Here we compile and summarize the significant progress in SGD assessment methodologies, considering both the terrestrial and marine driving forces, and local as well as global evaluations of groundwater discharge with an emphasis on investigations published over the past decade. Our treatment presents the state-of-the-art progress of SGD studies from geophysical, geochemical, bio-ecological, economic, and cultural perspectives. We identify and summarize remaining research questions, make recommendations for future research directions, and discuss potential future challenges, including impacts of climate change on SGD and improved estimates of the global magnitude of SGD.
Journal Article
Integrating landscape ecology and the assessment of ecosystem services in the study of karst areas
ContextA landscape is defined as a “system of ecosystems” and this is a model in which karst areas can easily be integrated. In karst areas, much of the connectivity between the units of the landscape is underground, with aquifers and caves forming a continuous layered tissue. However, underground environments are among the least studied landscapes on Earth because of limited accessibility and the difficulty of performing surveys.ObjectivesThe aim of this paper is to provide a conceptual framework for applying principles of landscape ecology to research on karst environments.MethodsBy adapting the standard patch-corridor-matrix model to a 3d model, the main issues that need to be addressed were identified. These include identifying the main morphological (surface and underground) karst features; determining the landscape structure through its features, composition, and configuration; and developing adequate indices.ResultsThe landscape spatial structure of different karst areas influences fundamental ecological functions and biodiversity patterns. Determining how structure, biodiversity, and functions relate reveals important insights into the functioning of karst systems. Emphasizing the provisioning of ecosystem services is essential in supporting the concept that karst regions are vital for human well-being because they host valuable resources and fundamental ecosystem processes. The paper discusses how this framework helps address anthropogenic impacts and conservation issues on karst.ConclusionsThe potential of applying a landscape approach to karst systems lies in developing models that provide ecological information relevant to understanding karst systems and understanding their implications for natural resources management.
Journal Article
Evidence for speciation underground in diving beetles (Dytiscidae) from a subterranean archipelago
Most subterranean animals are assumed to have evolved from surface ancestors following colonization of a cave system; however, very few studies have raised the possibility of “subterranean speciation” in underground habitats (i.e., obligate cave-dwelling organisms [troglobionts] descended from troglobiotic ancestors). Numerous endemic subterranean diving beetle species from spatially discrete calcrete aquifers in Western Australia (stygobionts) have evolved independently from surface ancestors; however, several cases of sympatric sister species raise the possibility of subterranean speciation. We tested this hypothesis using vision (phototransduction) genes that are evolving under neutral processes in subterranean species and purifying selection in surface species. Using sequence data from 32 subterranean and five surface species in the genus Paroster (Dytiscidae), we identified deleterious mutations in long wavelength opsin (lwop), arrestin 1 (arr1), and arrestin 2 (arr2) shared by a sympatric sister-species triplet, arr1 shared by a sympatric sister-species pair, and lwop and arr2 shared among closely related species in adjacent calcrete aquifers. In all cases, a common ancestor possessed the function-altering mutations, implying they were already adapted to aphotic environments. Our study represents one of the first confirmed cases of subterranean speciation in cave insects. The assessment of genes undergoing pseudogenization provides a novel way of testing modes of speciation and the history of diversification in blind cave animals.
Journal Article
Finding answers in the dark: caves as models in ecology fifty years after Poulson and White
The use of semi‐isolated habitats such as oceanic islands, lakes and mountain summits as model systems has played a crucial role in the development of evolutionary and ecological theory. Soon after the discovery of life in caves, different pioneering authors similarly recognized the great potential of these peculiar habitats as biological model systems. In their 1969 paper in Science, ‘The cave environment’, Poulson and White discussed how caves can be used as natural laboratories in which to study the underlying principles governing the dynamics of more complex environments. Together with other seminal syntheses published at the time, this work contributed to establishing the conceptual foundation for expanding the scope and relevance of cave‐based studies. Fifty years after, the aim of this review is to show why and how caves and other subterranean habitats can be used as eco‐evolutionary laboratories. Recent advances and directions in different areas are provided, encompassing community ecology, trophic‐webs and ecological networks, conservation biology, macroecology and climate change biology. Special emphasis is given to discuss how caves are only part of the extended network of fissures and cracks that permeate most substrates and, thus, their ecological role as habitat islands is critically discussed. Numerous studies have quantified the relative contribution of abiotic, biotic and historical factors in driving species distributions and community turnovers in space and time, from local to regional scales. Conversely, knowledge of macroecological patterns of subterranean organisms at a global scale remains largely elusive, due to major geographical and taxonomical biases. Also, knowledge regarding subterranean trophic webs and the effect of anthropogenic climate change on deep subterranean ecosystems is still limited. In these research fields, the extensive use of novel molecular and statistical tools may hold promise for quickly producing relevant information not accessible hitherto.
Journal Article
Underland : a deep time journey
From the vast underground mycelial networks by which trees communicate to the ice-blue depths of glacial moulins, and from North Yorkshire to the Lofoten Islands, Robert Macfarlane traces a voyage through the worlds beneath our feet. He reaches back into the deep history of the planet, through the layers of rock and ancient buried objects, and forward to the future, the legacy of the anthropocene and the world we bequeath our descendants. Underland is Macfarlane at his dazzling best - the lyrical, the political and the philosophical come together in this profound exploration of the relationship between landscape and the human heart.
Genomic signatures of subterranean lifestyle and ecological adaptation in Myospalax
Background
Mammals exhibit diverse adaptations to varied habitats, yet the genomic mechanisms underlying these transitions remain incompletely understood. Here, we present a comparative genomic, epigenomic, and three-dimensional chromatin analysis of two closely related zokor species,
Myospalax aspalax
and
Myospalax psilurus
, which inhabit arid and humid subterranean environments, respectively.
Results
We identified subterranean lineage-specific positively selected and rapidly evolving genes enriched for DNA repair, hypoxia response, blood vessel development, and fructose metabolism.
M. psilurus
showed a notable loss of olfactory receptor genes, expansion of pheromone-related gene families, and widespread activation of a specific ERVK transposable element family, accompanied by elevated DNA methylation, suggesting enhanced epigenetic defenses and ecological specialization. In contrast,
M. aspalax
showed selection in kidney and lipid metabolism genes. Large chromosomal inversions (> 1 Mb) overlapped islands of high genetic divergence (high-
F
ST
or high
D
xy
) and were enriched for sensory, reproductive, and DNA repair genes. Although chromatin compartments remained largely stable, large inversions disrupted topologically associating domains and preferentially occurred in regions characterized by longer chromatin loops. Inversion breakpoints were flanked by inverted repeats and segmental duplications—features characteristic of the formation mechanism of non-allelic homologous recombination, suggesting that both the spatial proximity and sequence architecture of these regions may predispose them to large inversions.
Conclusions
Overall, our results illuminate the structural, regulatory, and evolutionary mechanisms underlying ecological divergence and highlight how genome architecture contributes to adaptive evolution in subterranean mammals.
Journal Article