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Mammoth Cave Microbiology

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Mammoth Cave

Part of the book series: Cave and Karst Systems of the World ((CAKASYWO))

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Abstract

Microorganisms are a diverse group of Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukaryotes with their very small size in common. Microbes make up the majority of organisms in numbers, biomass, and metabolic diversity and are critical component of the biosphere through geochemical cycling. Caves are models for the study of astrobiology: life on other planets. This chapter reviews intraterrestrial (inside Earth) microbes in Mammoth Cave. Despite the great size and complexity of Mammoth Cave, few microbial studies have been carried out. Great changes in methods from culture-dependent to molecular genomic studies have provided new information. Geomicrobiology is at the intersection of microbial activities and geologic processes, including sulfur-based ecosytems, formation of carbonate speleothems, saltpeter mining, and manganese oxide deposits. Microorganisms also include infectious agents like tuberculosis, and parasites of humans and cave crickets, and the devastating invasive fungus that causes white-nose syndrome in bats. Microbial nature preserves could protect communities of native cave microbes adapted to low-nutrient conditions. There are many ecological and evolutionary questions to be studied along with basic research and inventory of microorganisms in Mammoth Cave.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    An unpublished poster titled “Concentration and Diversity of Bacteria in Clastic Sediments and Limestone Biofilms of Mammoth Cave, Kentucky” by Rick Fowler, Rick Olson, Hazel Barton, and Shivendra Sahi, a progress report to the National Cave and Karst Research Institute in Carlsbad, NM. The poster is stored in the Mammoth Cave National Park Curatorial Facility, accession number 818.

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Acknowledgements

I thank Tom Poulson, Diana Northup, Penny Boston, Louise Hose, and the late Gene Studier for many discussions that have provided insights into the contributions of microbes in caves. I thank Cody Leclair, Doug Soroka, and Lynn Kleina for comments on a draft of this chapter and the Editors for improvements.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, SUNY Plattsburgh, Plattsburgh, NY, USA

    Kathleen H. Lavoie

Authors
  1. Kathleen H. Lavoie
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Wittenberg University, Springfield, Ohio, USA

    Horton H. Hobbs III

  2. 1950 Roy Hunter Road, Cave Research Foundation, Cave City, Kentucky, USA

    Rickard A Olson

  3. Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, Kentucky, USA

    Elizabeth G Winkler

  4. American University, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

    David C. Culver

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Lavoie, K.H. (2017). Mammoth Cave Microbiology. In: Hobbs III, H., Olson, R., Winkler, E., Culver, D. (eds) Mammoth Cave. Cave and Karst Systems of the World. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53718-4_16

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