Biospeleology: The Biology of Cavernicolous Animals discusses the fundamental concepts in understanding the biological make up of cave-dwelling animals. The title aims to relate the subterranean world as a habitat for organisms. The first part of the text tackles basic concerns, such as the concept of the subterranean world and cavernicoles, along with the history and research concerns in biospeleology. Next, the selection enumerates the subterranean flora and fauna, along with the geographical distribution and ecology of cavernicoles. The next two parts detail the physiology and behavior of cavernicoles, while the last part tackles the evolution of cavarnicoles. The book will be of great interest to zoologists, biologists, and ecologists who wish to gain a better understanding of the biological properties of subterranean organisms.

The Encyclopedia of Caves and Karst Science examines cave and karst geoscience, cave archaeology and human use of caves, art in caves, hydrology and groundwater, cave and karst history, and conservation and management.

A critical examination of current knowledge and ideas on cave biology, with emphasis on evolution, ecology, and conservation.

The second edition of this widely cited textbook continues to provide a concise but comprehensive introduction to cave and subterranean biology, describing this fascinating habitat and its biodiversity. It covers a range of biological processes including ecosystem function, evolution and adaptation, community ecology, biogeography, and conservation. The authors draw on a global range of examples and case studies from both caves and non-cave subterranean habitats. One of the barriers to the study of subterranean biology has been the extraordinarily large number of specialized terms used by researchers; the authors explain these terms clearly and minimize the number that they use. This new edition retains the same 10 chapter structure of the original, but the content has been thoroughly revised and updated throughout to reflect the huge increase in publications concerning subterranean biology over the last decade.

Biospeleology, the study of organisms that live in caves, has a tremendous potential to inform many aspects of modern biology; yet this area of knowledge remains largely anchored in neo-Lamarckian views of the natural world in both its approaches and jargon. Written for graduate students and academic researchers, this book provides a critical examination of current knowledge and ideas on cave biology, with emphasis on evolution, ecology, and conservation. Aldemaro Romero provides a historical analysis of ideas that have influenced biospeleology, discusses evolutionary phenomena in caves, from cave colonization to phenotypic and genotypic changes, and integrates concepts and knowledge from diverse biological viewpoints. He challenges the conventional wisdom regarding the biology of caves, and highlights urgent questions that should be addressed in order to get a better and more complete understanding of caves as ecosystems.