News
New article on the trophic niche of sympatric salamanders
In this article we further studied the trophic niche of two sympatric salamanders: the Fire salamander Salamandra salamandra and the Italian cave salamander Speleomantes italicus. We here collected data on the autumnal diet and, besides comparing that of the two...
New article on salamander diet specialization
In this article we assessed the consistency of individual diet specialization of three populations of Speleomantes ambrosii throughout a period of three years. We found evidence of significant variation of the proportion of specialized individuals between different...
Sampling cave soil for METALCAVE
Members from University of L'Aquila and University of Calabria started to collect soil samples from caves. A nice "dirty" activity we enjoyed for a couple of weeks on Apennines. We sampled soil inside and outside 17 caves located in Tuscany, Umbria, Marche, Abruzzo.
New article on cave ecotones
In this article we analyzed the abundance of three facultative cave species inhabiting the transition zone between surface environment and deep cave areas. Speciefically, we examined the abundance of two spiders and one snail, identifying which are the environmental...
ICSB and ISAE 2024: New Award and Travel Grant Opportunities
As we gear up for the joint event of 26th International Conference on Subterranean Biology (ICSB) and 6th International Symposium on Anchialine Ecosystems (ISAE), we are thrilled to announce some significant updates designed to enrich the experience of our attendees...
New article on telomere length in cavefish
In this article we analyzed the telomere length in both cave and surface form of Astyanax mexicanus. Our results identifies longer telomeres in surface fish compared to cavefish, while no effect of aging was detected within sampled individuals. We hypothesize that...
Special issue book
We are pleased to inform that the collection of articles published in the special issue "Salamanders: Distribution, Diversity, and Conservation" edited by Dr. Lunghi is now available as a book. You can download the pdf for free from the link below. Title: Salamanders:...
Field activity in Sardegna, January 2024
We enjoyed the field activity in Sardegna searching for epigean populations of Speleomantes! We spent 10 days collecting data on multiple populations of four specie: S. genei, S. sarrabusensis, S. imperialis and S. flavus. These activities integrated the great...
Research Topic: Adaptations to Subterranean Environments
We are pleased to inform that the collection of articles published in the research topic "Adaptations to Subterranean Environments" edited by Dr. Lunghi, Prof. Niemiller and Dr. Bilandzija is now available as ebook. You can download the pdf for free from this link. We...