Cave Aquatic Biota

Importance / Issues

Mammoth Cave is the core resource for which Mammoth Cave National Park was established, and it is known worldwide for its highly diverse cave ecosystems.  The base level biological community within the cave aquatic ecosystem was selected as a high priority for monitoring for three reasons.

First, this type of cave community is vulnerable to threats from sinkhole inputs up-gradient and from surface streams that can back-flood into cave streams through springs.

Second, the base level community at the park includes the endangered and endemic Kentucky Cave Shrimp (Palaemonias ganteri).

Third, even though this community is incredibly simple when compared, for instance, with surface river ecosystems, it is sufficiently complex and therefore requires development of a long-term monitoring protocol, by which a component of the cave aquatic ecosystem can be reliably monitored, ecological condition of component communities, and diversity and relative abundance trends of the community understood.

 Census is concentrated on macro-organisms which can be identified in the field, since wholesale collecting of specimens for later identification in the laboratory would be incompatible with the objectives of the park. These censuses include total counts along a stream segment for fishes, salamanders and other vertebrates, plus crayfish, and shrimp.  Other macrofauna are noted as they are encountered in the field, but total counts are not attempted.  These organisms include isopods, amphipods, flatworms, snails, and copepods.  Many of the organisms are captured with small dip nets, measured, and examined for signs of health, reproduction, and food intake.

All organisms are returned to the stream as quickly as possible, without harm, and at the capture location. At those sites where the stream is one meter deep or less, the surveys can be made by walking along and in the stream. At locations where the water depths exceed 1-2 meters, however, it is necessary to use wet suits or dry suits, fins, masks and snorkels.

Management Applications

Contact Information

Dr. Willian Pearson
Biology Department
University of Louisville
Louisville, KY 40292
(502) 852-3727