1. Subterranean environments contribute to three-quarters of classified ecosystem servicesStefano Mammola, David Brankovits, Tiziana Di Lorenzo, Isabel R. Amorim, Raluca Ioana Bancila, Adrià Bellvert, Enrico Bernard, Anna Blomberg, Nataša Mori, Maja Zagmajster, 2026, izvirni znanstveni članek Povzetek: Beneath the Earth’s surface lies a network of interconnected caves, voids, and systems of fissures forming in rocks of sed-imentary, igneous, or metamorphic origin. Although largely inaccessible to humans, this hidden realm supports and reg-ulates services critical to ecological health and human well-being. Subterranean ecosystems are integral to majorbiogeochemical cycles, sustain diverse surface habitats, and serve as the primary source of irrigation and drinking water.They also offer non-material benefits, including scientific discovery, education, and cultural practices. Yet, these contri-butions often go unrecognised, partly due to the lack of a unified synthesis of ecosystem services across terrestrial, fresh-water, and marine subterranean compartments. This gap limits effective communication of their value to scientists,practitioners, and the public. Through a systematic expert-based review, we show that subterranean ecosystems contrib-ute to up to 75% of classified ecosystem services. Notably, many of these contributions are described only qualitatively,lacking numerical or economic quantification. Next, we list examples of the main ecosystem services provided by subter-ranean systems to offer a global overview of their multifaceted value and vulnerability to environmental change. Webelieve this synthesis provides researchers and practitioners with concrete examples to communicate more effectivelythe importance of subterranean ecosystems to diverse audiences.
Ključne besede: groundwater, hypogean, nature value, drinking water, food production, biotechnology, geothermal energy, sustainability, ecotourism, cultural heritage
Objavljeno v DiRROS: 02.03.2026; Ogledov: 106; Prenosov: 91
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2. Are caves enough to represent karst groundwater biodiversity? Insights from geospatial analyses applied to European obligate groundwater-dwelling copepodsEmma Galmarini, Mattia Di Cicco, Barbara Fiasca, Nataša Mori, Mattia Iannella, Tiziana Di Lorenzo, Francesco Cerasoli, Diana Maria Paola Galassi, 2025, izvirni znanstveni članek Povzetek: Caves are recognized as biodiversity hotspots for groundwater fauna, including obligate groundwater-dwelling copepods (Crustacea: Copepoda), exhibiting high species richness, endemism, and phylogenetic rarity. However, the extent to which caves alone provide a representative estimate of copepod species richness in karst areas remains uncertain. Taking advantage of the recently published EGCop dataset, the first expert-validated, Europe-wide occurrence dataset for obligate groundwater-dwelling copepods (hereinafter, GW copepods), this study investigates the distribution of GW copepods into karst areas, comparing species richness in caves versus other karst groundwater habitats (e.g., springs, karst streams, artificial wells), within and among the European karst units. The main aims are: (i) identifying karst areas which represent hotpots of GW copepod species richness; (ii) assessing to which extent caves, as open windows to the subterranean environments, contribute to define hotspots of GW copepods’ species richness into karst areas across Europe. EGCop comprises 6,986 records from 588 copepod species/subspecies distributed among four orders: Cyclopoida (3,664 records, 184 species), Harpacticoida (3,288 records, 395 species), Calanoida (32 records, seven species), and Gelyelloida (two records, two species). To perform geospatial analyses, we filtered the dataset by: (i) selecting only the records with spatial uncertainty in the associated coordinates lower than 10 km; (ii) searching for those records falling within, or very close to, the polygons representing European karst areas. Species richness hotspots were then estimated through geospatial analyses in geographic information system (GIS) environment. Within the selected records, those specifically referring to karst habitats (2,526 records, 369 species) are primarily represented by Harpacticoida (1,199 records, 228 species) and Cyclopoida (1,293 records, 132 species). Among species collected from karst habitats, records from caves (1,867, 73.9%) belong to 318 species (Harpacticoida = 189, Cyclopoida = 122, Calanoida = 7), representing 86.1% of the total species richness of karst habitats. Geospatial analyses reveal that the European hotspots of GW copepods’ species richness recorded exclusively in caves reflect the spatial arrangement of postglacial refugia in southern karst regions, though representing a subset of the broader diversity found across all karst groundwater habitats. Our findings highlight that the contribution of cave systems in groundwater biodiversity assessments and related conservation planning may vary depending on the evolution and morphologies of the target karst regions—often pointing to a high representativeness of caves for subterranean biodiversity, sometimes revealing their lower explanatory power within the broader karst systems.
Ključne besede: copepoda, groundwater, biodiversity, datasets, caves, karst, Europe
Objavljeno v DiRROS: 19.12.2025; Ogledov: 327; Prenosov: 256
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3. Subterranean environments contribute to three-quarters of classified ecosystem servicesStefano Mammola, David Brankovits, Tiziana Di Lorenzo, Isabel R. Amorim, Raluca Ioana Bancila, Nataša Mori, Maja Zagmajster, 2025, drugi sestavni deli Povzetek: Beneath the Earth’s surface lies a network of interconnected caves, voids, and systems of fissures forming in rocks of sedimentary, igneous, or metamorphic origin. Though largely inaccessible to humans, this hidden realm supports and regulates services critical to ecological health and human well-being. Subterranean ecosystems are integral to major biogeochemical cycles, sustain diverse surface habitats, and serve as the primary source of irrigation and drinking water. They also offer non-material benefits, including scientific discovery, education, and cultural practices. Yet, these contributions often go unrecognized, partly due to the lack of a unified synthesis of ecosystem services across terrestrial, freshwater, and marine subterranean compartments. This gap limits effective communication of their value to scientists, practitioners, and the public. Through a systematic expert-based review, we show that subterranean ecosystems contribute to up to 75% of classified ecosystem services. Notably, many of these contributions are described only qualitatively, lacking numerical or economic quantification. Next, we provide examples of the main services to offer a global overview of their multifaceted value and vulnerability to environmental change. We believe this synthesis provides researchers and practitioners with concrete examples and targeted metaphors to more effectively communicate the importance of subterranean ecosystems to diverse audiences.
Ključne besede: cultural heritage, ecotourism, sustainability, geothermal energy, biotechnology, food production, drinking water, nature value, hypogean, groundwater
Objavljeno v DiRROS: 02.07.2025; Ogledov: 667; Prenosov: 997
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4. Oxygen consumption and carbon budget in groundwater-obligate and surface-dwelling Diacyclops species (Crustacea Copepoda Cyclopoida) under temperature variabilityTiziana Di Lorenzo, Agostina Tabilio Di Camillo, Sanda Iepure, Diana Maria Paola Galassi, Nataša Mori, Tatjana Simčič, 2025, izvirni znanstveni članek Povzetek: This study explores the metabolic response and carbon budget of two cyclopoid copepod species, Diacyclops belgicus Kiefer, 1936 (a stygobitic, groundwater-adapted species) and Diacyclops crassicaudis crassicaudis (Sars G.O., 1863) (a stygophilic, predominantly surface-associated species). We measured oxygen consumption rates (OCRs), carbon requirements (CRs), ingestion (I) rates, and egestion (E) rates at 14 °C and 17 °C, representing current and predicted future conditions in the collection habitats of the two species. Diacyclops belgicus displayed OCRs (28.15 and 18.32 µL O2/mg DW × h at 14 and 17 °C, respectively) and carbon budget (CR: 0.14 and 0.10 µg C/mg × d at 14 and 17 °C) lower than those of D. crassicaudis crassicaudis (OCR: 55.67 and 47.93 µL O2/mg DW × h at 14 and 17 °C; CR: 0.3 and 0.27 µg C/mg × d at 14 and 17 °C). However, D. belgicus exhibited metabolic rates and carbon requirements comparable to those of other epigean species, challenging the assumption that low metabolic rates are universal among stygobitic species. Temperature variations did not significantly affect the metabolic responses and carbon requirements of the two species, suggesting that they may cope with moderate temperature increases.
Ključne besede: groundwater, metabolic rates, stygobitic, climate change, copepods, crustaceans, energy budget, zoology
Objavljeno v DiRROS: 21.01.2025; Ogledov: 798; Prenosov: 567
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5. Metabolic rates of groundwater species as a function of body mass and temperatureTiziana Di Lorenzo, Nataša Mori, Tatjana Simčič, 2024, pregledni znanstveni članek Povzetek: Research on the metabolic physiology of groundwater species, particularly regarding oxygen consumption
rates (OCR), has made significant advancement, revealing valuable insights into the adaptations of exclusively
groundwater-dwelling (stygobitic) species. However, a comprehensive understanding of how these metabolic
rates scale with body mass and respond to temperature changes remains elusive. This study aims to bridge this
gap by reviewing published data on OCR across a variety of groundwater organisms to elucidate patterns of
metabolic rates in relation to body size and temperature. We employed a combination of literature review and
quantitative analyses, focusing on the allometric scaling of OCR with body weight and the effect of temperature on metabolic rates. Our findings indicate that OCR scales with body weight in an allometric pattern,
with an inter-species slope of 0.80, suggesting non-isometric scaling. Furthermore, our analysis showed that
stygobitic species’ metabolic rates are less responsive to warming than those of non-stygobitic species at low to
moderate temperatures. However, at higher temperatures, metabolic rates in stygobitic species decline faster
than in non-stygobitic taxa, highlighting a potential vulnerability to global climate change. This study contributes to our understanding of the metabolic strategies of groundwater species, underscoring the need for further
research to fully grasp the eco-evolutionary implications of these findings for groundwater conservation.
Ključne besede: allometry, Arrhenius equation, ectotherms, metabolism, oxygen consumption rate, respiration, stygobiont
Objavljeno v DiRROS: 13.09.2024; Ogledov: 1060; Prenosov: 729
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