Sources and sinks of methane (CH4) are critical for understanding global biogeochemical cycles and their role in climate change. A growing number of studies have reported that CH4 concentrations in cave ecosystems are depleted, leading to the notion that these subterranean environments may act as sinks for atmospheric CH4. Recently, it was hypothesized that this CH4 depletion may be caused by r...

To what extent can the mammalian visual system be shaped by visual behavior? Here we analyze the shape of the visual fields, the densities and distribution of cells in the retinal ganglion-cell layer and the organization of the visual projections in two species of facultative non-strictly subterranean rodents, Spalacopus cyanus and Ctenomys talarum, aiming to compare these traits with those of ...

Fertilizing pastures with poultry litter has led to an increased incidence of nutrient-saturated soils, particularly on highly fertilized, well drained soils. Applying litter to silvopastures, in which loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) and bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum) production are integrated, may be an ecologically desirable alternative for upland soils of the southeastern USA. Integrating subt...

Pressure from subterranean termites is known to vary geographically across the United States, but there are few quantitative studies concerning the threat of structural infestation for any geographic region. We assessed the number and locations of termite colonies present on 20 infested residential properties in central North Carolina, where subterranean termite pressure is considered to be hea...

Subterranean termite control accounted for 50% of the total business turnover of the Malaysian pest control industry in 2000, of which USS8-10 million were spent. About 70% of termite treatments were done on residential premises, 20% on industrial buildings and 10% on commercial buildings. The most important species are Coptotermes travians, C. curvignathus, C. havilandi C. kalshoveniand C. sep...

Research on subterranean organisms has focused on the colonization process and some of the associated phenotypic changes, but little is known on the long-term evolutionary dynamics of subterranean lineages and the origin of some highly specialized complex characters. One of the most extreme modifications is the reduction of the number of larval instars in some Leptodirini beetles from the ances...

Despite being treated with preservatives, the service life of transmission poles and fence posts in the Zambian Copperbelt province is close to fifteen years. However, the service life is only two years for untreated timber, mainly due to termite damage. This short service life is exerting more pressure on an already over-burdened timber resource base. This study used an accelerated field test ...

Subterranean biodiversity in Europe is spectacularly rich, with the Western Balkans being home to about 400 cave species, representing the highest number of species per area worldwide [1]. Nonetheless, cave fishes, which are the most commonly found vertebrates in underground habitats [2], have not been described from Europe so far [3]. Here, we report the first European record of a cave fish po...

the handmade subterranean architectural structure is a special kind of architecture that is in its creation does not require any construction materials but it needs many efforts and hard working to be produced the different types of this kind are visible in the different parts of iran. a unique collection of this type of architecture is the troglodytic architectural complex of samen, located ab...

The constant darkness of caves and other subterranean habitats imposes sensory constraints that offer a unique opportunity to examine evolution of sensory modalities. Hearing in cavefishes has not been well explored, and here we show that cavefishes in the family Amblyopsidae are not only blind but have also lost a significant portion of their hearing range. Our results showed that cave and sur...