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Diversity
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Subterranean Zoology: Diversity, Distribution and Conservation of Subterranean Animals
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Subterranean Zoology: Diversity, Distribution and Conservation of Subterranean Animals

A special issue of Diversity (ISSN 1424-2818). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Diversity".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2024) | Viewed by 1569

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Raoul Manenti

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Dipartimento di Scienze e Politiche Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Milano, 20133 Milan, Italy
Interests: zoology; herpetology; planarians; crayfish; cave biology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Enrico Lunghi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Division of Molecular Biology, Institut Ruđer Bošković, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Interests: herpetology; cave biology; ecology; evolution; conservation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The subterranean realm (from the shallowest to the deepest environments that occur below the ground) is inhabited by an astonishing amount of biodiversity, most of which is still unknown to science. This lack is likely enhanced by the difficulty of exploring the subterranean space: yet, only a part of these environments can be explored by more or less trained humans. Animals inhabiting subterranean environments can show particular behavioral, physiological and morphological traits that make them specifically adapted to the peculiar ecological conditions found there. However, most of these adaptations make subterranean-dwelling animals more vulnerable to environmental perturbations, therefore making them more prone to extinction risk.

With this Special Issue we aim to boost the study on subterranean species to fill some of the gaps in our knowledge related to subterranean zoology. We welcome all types of papers related to subterranean animals, from those describing their distribution and diversity, to those aiming to shed light on their specific ecology and life traits. Species description is also welcome. Furthermore, we strongly encourage the submission of papers aiming to provide useful information on the conservation of these species, as they are usually one of the most neglected and rarely listed in the IUCN Red List.

Dr. Raoul Manenti
Dr. Enrico Lunghi
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diversity is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • cave biology
  • biospeleology
  • adaptation
  • distribution
  • diversity
  • conservation
  • phenotype
  • plasticity
  • stygofauna
  • troglobite
  • troglophile
  • trogloxene
  • ecology

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

23 pages, 5912 KiB  
Article
Variation of Gene Expression in the Endemic Dinaric Karst Cave-Dwelling Bivalve Mollusk Congeria kusceri during the Summer Season
by Annalisa Scapolatiello, Chiara Manfrin, Samuele Greco, Tomislav Rončević, Alberto Pallavicini, Sanja Puljas and Marco Gerdol
Diversity 2023, 15(6), 707; https://doi.org/10.3390/d15060707 - 26 May 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1177
Abstract
The cave systems of the Neretva River basin in the Dinaric Karst are home to Congeria kusceri, one of the very few known examples of stygobiotic bivalve mollusks, which displays several unique life history traits and adaptations that allowed its adaptation to [...] Read more.
The cave systems of the Neretva River basin in the Dinaric Karst are home to Congeria kusceri, one of the very few known examples of stygobiotic bivalve mollusks, which displays several unique life history traits and adaptations that allowed its adaptation to the subterranean environment. This endemic species is undergoing rapid decline, most likely linked with habitat degradation, which might seriously threaten its survival in the next few decades. Unfortunately, the urgent need for effective conservation efforts is hampered by the lack of effective regulations aimed at preserving remnant populations as well as by our limited knowledge of the biology of this species. Although the precise factors underlying the disappearance of C. kusceri from its type locations are not entirely clear, the alteration of seasonal changes in water temperatures and alkalinity is most likely involved, as these are the main drivers of shell growth, spawning, and the onset and progression of the new gametogenic cycle. While these aspects have so far only been studied using morphological and physiological observations, future conservation efforts would certainly benefit from an integrated multidisciplinary approach. Here, using RNA-sequencing, we provide an overview of the modulation of gene expression recorded in five key tissues (the mantle, gonads, gills, adductor muscle, and digestive gland) between early June and late September. We highlight the presence of markedly tissue-specific responses, with the most dramatic changes affecting the gonads, mantle, and gills. We further identified a drastic switch in the use of energy budgets between the two periods, with evidence of ongoing shell growth and high metabolic activity in the mantle and gills at the early time point, followed by a massive redirection of all available energy to the gonads for the generation of new gamete primordia in early autumn. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Subterranean Zoology: Diversity, Distribution and Conservation of Subterranean Animals)
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