Drivers of invertebrate community structure in a high-volume Neotropical cave system: a newly recognized subterranean biodiversity hotspot.
4 affiliations
- 1Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia Aplicada, Universidade Federal de Lavras, Lavras, Minas Gerais, CEP 37200-900, Brasil. [email protected].
- 2Centro de Estudos em Biologia Subterrânea, Departamento de Ecologia e Conservação, Instituto de Ciências Naturais, Universidade Federal de Lavras, Lavras, Minas Gerais, CEP 37200-900, Brasil. [email protected].
- 3Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia Aplicada, Universidade Federal de Lavras, Lavras, Minas Gerais, CEP 37200-900, Brasil.
- 4Centro de Estudos em Biologia Subterrânea, Departamento de Ecologia e Conservação, Instituto de Ciências Naturais, Universidade Federal de Lavras, Lavras, Minas Gerais, CEP 37200-900, Brasil.
Abstract
Understanding how niche-based and neutral processes shape biological communities is a central objective in ecology, particularly in extreme and poorly explored environments such as large subterranean systems. Here, we investigated the mechanisms structuring terrestrial invertebrate communities in the one of the most extensive and voluminous cave systems in South America. Sampling across 56 sectors (30 m²) and 168 quadrats (1 m²) revealed 123 terrestrial invertebrate species. Complementary intuitive searches conducted throughout the cave, combined with standardized sampling, indicated that the system harbors at least 23 obligate cave species, supporting its recognition as a new hotspot of subterranean biodiversity. Total species richness, as well as the richness of non-troglobitic species, increased with resource availability and shelter availability, indicating a strong influence of niche partitioning. In contrast, troglobitic species richness declined markedly with increasing distance from aquatic environments, highlighting microclimatic stability as a key environmental filter. Beta diversity was primarily structured by microclimatic stability and resource availability, whereas geographic distance and cave identity had comparatively minor effects, suggesting that dispersal does not represent a major constraint on species distribution within this highly connected system. Resource gradients promoted species turnover in troglobitic assemblages, while richness differences predominated in non-troglobitic assemblages. Overall, our findings indicate that community assembly in large cave systems emerges from the joint action of environmental filtering and niche partitioning, with responses varying across spatial scales and degrees of ecological specialization. These results reinforce the conservation importance of high-volumnous cave systems as unique environments that harbor highly diverse and specialized biotas.
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BibTeX
@article{vaz2026drivers,
title = {{Drivers of invertebrate community structure in a high-volume Neotropical cave system: a newly recognized subterranean biodiversity hotspot.}},
author = {Gabriel Augusto Silva Vaz and Rodrigo Lopes Ferreira and Marconi Souza-Silva},
journal = {Oecologia},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1007/s00442-026-05989-0},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42886375},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Drivers of invertebrate community structure in a high-volume Neotropical cave system: a newly recognized subterranean biodiversity hotspot.
AU - Gabriel Augusto Silva Vaz
AU - Rodrigo Lopes Ferreira
AU - Marconi Souza-Silva
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/16
JO - Oecologia
DO - 10.1007/s00442-026-05989-0
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42886375
AB - Understanding how niche-based and neutral processes shape biological communities is a central objective in ecology, particularly in extreme and poorly explored environments such as large subterranean systems. Here, we investigated the mechanisms structuring terrestrial invertebrate communities in the one of the most extensive and voluminous cave systems in South America. Sampling across 56 sectors (30 m²) and 168 quadrats (1 m²) revealed 123 terrestrial invertebrate species. Complementary intuitive searches conducted throughout the cave, combined with standardized sampling, indicated that the system harbors at least 23 obligate cave species, supporting its recognition as a new hotspot of subterranean biodiversity. Total species richness, as well as the richness of non-troglobitic species, increased with resource availability and shelter availability, indicating a strong influence of niche partitioning. In contrast, troglobitic species richness declined markedly with increasing distance from aquatic environments, highlighting microclimatic stability as a key environmental filter. Beta diversity was primarily structured by microclimatic stability and resource availability, whereas geographic distance and cave identity had comparatively minor effects, suggesting that dispersal does not represent a major constraint on species distribution within this highly connected system. Resource gradients promoted species turnover in troglobitic assemblages, while richness differences predominated in non-troglobitic assemblages. Overall, our findings indicate that community assembly in large cave systems emerges from the joint action of environmental filtering and niche partitioning, with responses varying across spatial scales and degrees of ecological specialization. These results reinforce the conservation importance of high-volumnous cave systems as unique environments that harbor highly diverse and specialized biotas.
SN - 0029-8549
SN - 1432-1939
ER -