Bermuda's Walsingham Caves: A Global Hotspot for Anchialine Stygobionts Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • Bermuda is an Eocene age volcanic island in the western North Atlantic, entirely capped by Pleistocene eolian limestone. The oldest and most highly karstified limestone is a 2 km2 outcrop of the Walsingham Formation containing most of the islands 150+ caves. Extensive networks of submerged cave passageways, flooded by saltwater, extend under the island. In the early 1980s, cave divers initially discovered an exceptionally rich and diverse anchialine community inhabiting deeper sections of the caves. The fauna inhabiting caves in the Walsingham Tract consists of 78 described species of cave-dwelling invertebrates, including 63 stygobionts and 15 stygophiles. Thus, it represents one of the worlds top hotspots of subterranean biodiversity. Of the anchialine fauna, 65 of the 78 species are endemic to Bermuda, while 66 of the 78 are crustaceans. The majority of the cave species are limited in their distribution to just one or only a few adjacent caves. Due to Bermudas high population density, water pollution, construction, limestone quarries, and trash dumping produce severe pressures on cave fauna and groundwater health. Consequently, the IUCN Red List includes 25 of Bermudas stygobiont species as critically endangered.

published proceedings

  • DIVERSITY-BASEL

altmetric score

  • 2.35

author list (cited authors)

  • Iliffe, T. M., & Calderon-Gutierrez, F.

citation count

  • 1

complete list of authors

  • Iliffe, Thomas M||Calderon-Gutierrez, Fernando

publication date

  • January 2021

publisher