Como os atributos ambientais afetam e limitam as comunidades de invertebrados em cavernas tropicais e suas áreas adjacentes?

Abstract

Subterranean environments play a crucial role as complex ecosystems, providing refuge for invertebrates and vertebrates that perform ecological services on the surface. In Brazil, the conservation of cave fauna faces challenges due to the lack of effective methodologies. Mining interest in regions with a high incidence of caves, permitted by recent legislation, poses challenges in reconciling preservation and exploitation. The legislation employs the concept of "influence area" to refer to areas adjacent to caves, but the lack of standardized methods for its determination complicates its definition when the aim is to preserve terrestrial invertebrate species inhabiting these areas. Studies indicate the importance of protecting not only the cavity itself but also its surroundings for effective conservation. This thesis contributes to the understanding of the relationships between terrestrial invertebrates in subterranean and surface environments to guide the definition of influence areas in caves of different lithologies. Comprising two manuscripts, the first seeks to understand the essential factors for maintaining invertebrate communities in subterranean and epigeal environments in karst areas of different lithologies throughout the rainy and dry seasons. The second manuscript investigates the limiting factors for the similarity of fauna between subterranean and epigeal environments in different lithologies and seasons of the year.