Ecolog: I would appreciate hearing from anyone concerning this subject. I believe that cave ecosystems may be worthy of consideration by all ecologists. They are highly simplified and contained, thus their study might reveal some principles that the study of more complex systems might not reveal. The following quote sums up my reasons for this post, if largely because of what is not mentioned.
"Why has Lascaux Cave suffered successive biological invasions since its discovery? The problem derives from the public interest and pressure of rock art tourism and the erroneous concept that all rock art should be exposed to public view, a concept which generally opposes an effective conservation of rock art. If we accept that a statue or an oil painting can be exposed to mass tourism in a museum, the question is quite critical when it refers to rock art that has been confined in a closed subterranean environment for millennia. It is often forgotten that the opening of a cave immediately results in a sudden change of microclimate, deterioration of speleothems and rock art paintings, and implies a strong and irreversible aggression to cave biology and the whole ecosystem. Bacteria, fungi and arthropods have all constructed delicate and balanced trophic relationships between predator and prey, and the strength of interactions between species is frequently interrupted by adaptations for mass visits, which also include excavations and major destructive interventions. We must admit that science and technology have a limited field of action because no cave is ever completely restored to its former ecological state." http://mic.sgmjournals.org/content/156/3/644.full?maxtoshow=&hits=20&RESULTFORMAT=&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&displaysectionid=Reviews%252FMini-Reviews&resourcetype=HWCIT WT
