2021 is the International Year of Caves and Karst, and we are happy to offer a series of (online) seminars about cave science. Join the “The Cave Show” from your own home.

On March 31 (Wednesday), 8:30pm (WET) join us for the webinar ‘Bats: biology, ecology and diversity of the iconic inhabitants of caves’, by Dr. Maria João Pereira, Assistant Professor at the Zoology Department, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

Bats are the iconic inhabitants of caves and karst! They are the only true flying mammals, and flight has enabled them to occupy almost every terrestrial environment on Earth. During this talk we will discuss several aspects of the extraordinary bat diversity and biology, their socio-economic importance and the services they provide for ecosystems and ultimately to us, humans. We will also discuss their incredible resistance to aging and disease, making them excellent models for research on human health. Unfortunately, a significant percentage of the over 1400 extant bat species is threatened by human actions. Our travel across the bat world will focus mostly on the neotropical region, where we find the most ecologically diverse bat assemblages.
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“The Cave Show” is a series of (online) seminars about why are caves important, why it is important to study and protect caves, but also about our passion for caves, which drive much of our research activities. It is included in the celebrations of the International Year of Caves and Karst. Stay tuned to know about the next Cave Show seminars!

The webinar will takes place on YouTube, HERE: https://youtu.be/YUIUAss_x3Q

ABSTRACT
Diplura is the sister group to insects and one of the three basal hexapod groups with unique entognathan mouthparts. The order is divided into 10 families, which include 1008 species in 141 genera, with a high proportion of monotypic genera. They are ubiquitous in soils and subsurface terrestrial habitats, as well as have an important role in overall biogeochemical cycles.
We present the first comprehensive review of the global biodiversity and ecology of Diplura. We highlight four aspects of this basal hexapod group: diversity in morphological body plans and sizes; ecology in terrestrial environments from soil to caves; food preference and trophic levels, and their biogeographical and paleobiogeographical significance.
Diplura depends on high humidity and moderate temperatures. They are presumably very sensitive to anthropogenic pressures and climate change, and therefore are a suitable model for ecophysiological studies and evident priority targets for conservation.
We conclude that the future efforts should focus on establishing a molecular phylogeny to clarify the relationships between and within families, as well as to reveal global biogeographical patterns. This will require an increase in sampling effort in several regions of the globe, especially in tropical regions.

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Reference: Sendra A., Jimenez-Valverde A., Selfa, J. & Reboleira A.S.P.S. (2021). Diversity, ecology, distribution and biogeography of Diplura. Insect Conservation and Diversity. http://doi.org/10.1111/icad.12480

Our paper "Decomposition of Organic Matter in Caves" was selected as 2020 Editor’s Choice articles for Models in Ecology and Evolution section in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution.

Articles chosen by Chief Editors are those of outstanding quality and interest.

You can read our paper here:
https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2020.554651

And the entire Chief Editor's selection here:
https://www.frontiersin.org/books/Frontiers_in_Ecology_and_Evolution_2020_Highlights