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Geosciences
Special Issues
Recent and Fossil Submarine Caves
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Recent and Fossil Submarine Caves

A special issue of Geosciences (ISSN 2076-3263). This special issue belongs to the section "Sedimentology, Stratigraphy and Palaeontology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2022) | Viewed by 10298

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Rossana Sanfilippo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Catania, Corso Italia 57, 95129 Catania, Italy
Interests: polychaete serpulids: systematics, tube structure and (palaeo)ecology; marine invertebrates (gastropods, bivalves, sabellariids, bryozoans); palaeoecology of benthic associations; recent and fossil bioconstructions; marine cave (paleo)environments; palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic reconstructions; taphonomy

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue aims to gather new contributions on recent and fossil caves from all over the world and their inhabiting biota, and to focus on several aspects such as (palaeo)biodiversity, (palaeo)ecology, taphonomy and evolutionary history.

Submarine caves represent complex dark and oligotrophic ecosystems with strong environmental gradients, supporting a variety of sciaphilic communities. They are conservative environments representing archives of exquisitely preserved remains of the original inhabitants. Cave habitats are evolutionary laboratories hosting highly specialized, fragile species and relict faunas that survived palaeogeographic, geological and climatic events.

Owing to high values of endemicity and biodiversity, submerged caves have attracted increasing scientific interest. However, hampered by difficulties in finding and sampling, they are still little known and deserve to be more deeply investigated. Even less is known in the fossil record, where cave communities are rarely preserved owing to diagenetic destructive processes or the action of vadose and/or marine waters that can periodically flow in after tectonics or sea level changes, thus commonly eroding the biogenic crusts from the walls.

The main goal is to increase knowledge on these peculiar habitats and their dwellers, providing a basis for further research and conservation initiatives for these bio-geological natural laboratories.

Therefore, I would like to invite you to submit articles about your recent research or case studies, with respect to the above and/or the following topics:

  • Benthic associations of worldwide recent and fossil submarine caves;
  • (Palaeo)biodiversity of marine cave environments;
  • Endemics or cave species adaptations;
  • Confinement gradient and pattern of spatial settlement of cave-dwellers;
  • Assessment of natural or human-induced threats to cave environment conservation;
  • Evolutionary history of recent and fossil caves;
  • Tafonomic processes in marine fossil caves. 

I also encourage you to send me a short abstract outlining the purpose of the research and the principal results obtained, in order to verify at an early stage if the contribution you intend to submit fits with the objectives of the Special Issue.

Sincerely yours,

Prof. Dr. Rossana Sanfilippo
Guest Editor

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. Geosciences 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 1800 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

  • marine caves
  • (palaeo)biodiversity
  • (palaeo)ecology
  • taphonomy

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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21 pages, 30086 KiB  
Article
Pleistocene Caves of Eastern Sicily Coast: Exceptional Archives to Reconstruct the History of the Island’s Biota
by Laura Bonfiglio, Antonietta Rosso, Victoria Herridge, Gianni Insacco, Agatino Reitano, Gianmarco Minniti, Gabriella Mangano and Rossana Sanfilippo
Geosciences 2022, 12(7), 258; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences12070258 - 23 Jun 2022
Viewed by 2554
Abstract
The distinctive features and fossil content of some caves from eastern Sicily (San Teodoro, Donnavilla, Fulco, Taormina, Tremilia, Spinagallo), altogether spanning from the middle Pleistocene until the beginning of the Holocene, are discussed. Although dating on vertebrate and/or invertebrate remains is available in [...] Read more.
The distinctive features and fossil content of some caves from eastern Sicily (San Teodoro, Donnavilla, Fulco, Taormina, Tremilia, Spinagallo), altogether spanning from the middle Pleistocene until the beginning of the Holocene, are discussed. Although dating on vertebrate and/or invertebrate remains is available in few instances, coastal notches and marine terraces correlate with the caves, provide further chronological constraint. The San Teodoro and Spinagallo caves are the best known, whereas the Tremilia cave deserves to be better analysed. Most caves, but not the San Teodoro one (including only terrestrial faunas), testify to the transition from submarine coastal environments (documented by biogenic crusts, borings, shelly sediments), to continental conditions (vertebrate remains of the Paleoloxodon falconeri, Maccagnone and San Teodoro Faunistic Complexes). The fossil register preserved in these cavities represents a source of information useful to (1) reconstruct the palaeogeography of Sicily and its coastline, largely resulting from the interplay between tectonic and sea-level changes linked to climate fluctuations; and (2) the consequent evolution of the terrestrial biota, including the dominance of insular endemic taxa later replaced by species shared with continental Italy, after the establishment of temporary connection through the Messina Strait. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent and Fossil Submarine Caves)
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18 pages, 3386 KiB  
Article
First Speleological and Biological Characterization of a Submerged Cave of the Tremiti Archipelago Geomorphosite (Adriatic Sea)
by Frine Cardone, Martina Mazzetti, Adelmo Sorci, Andrea Cesaretti, Roberta Cimmaruta and Maria Flavia Gravina
Geosciences 2022, 12(5), 213; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences12050213 - 17 May 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2466
Abstract
The Tremiti Islands Archipelago is located in the Central-Southern Adriatic Sea and is characterized by a strong karst activity. Due to their landscape, geological, hydrological, archaeological, and historical value, Tremiti Islands are considered a geomorphosite. We carried out a preliminary, non-destructive survey by [...] Read more.
The Tremiti Islands Archipelago is located in the Central-Southern Adriatic Sea and is characterized by a strong karst activity. Due to their landscape, geological, hydrological, archaeological, and historical value, Tremiti Islands are considered a geomorphosite. We carried out a preliminary, non-destructive survey by studying the speleological and biological features of the submerged sea cave Elle, located at Cala Sorrentino (Capraia Island), representing an EU Natura 2000 Priority Habitat. Topographic (perimeter length, width, height, GPS location, depth) and hydrological parameters (temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, irradiance, water movement) were measured and its map was produced, based on morphological measurements and biological evidence. Species composition and biotic cover were investigated by image analysis. The benthic community was dominated by poriferans, together with remarkable assemblages of scleractinians and polychaete serpulids and clearly reflected the sharp light and hydrological gradients from the entrance to the cave bottom. Furthermore, different phases were hypothesized for the genesis of the cave during sea regression and flooding periods. To be signaled is the record of Petrobiona massiliana, a sponge was protected under both Barcelona and Bern Convention and of some individuals of polychaete Serpulinae, which are still under description. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent and Fossil Submarine Caves)
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Review

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21 pages, 3494 KiB  
Review
Benthic Foraminifera as Environmental Indicators in Mediterranean Marine Caves: A Review
by Elena Romano, Luisa Bergamin and Mario Parise
Geosciences 2022, 12(1), 42; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences12010042 - 16 Jan 2022
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 4598
Abstract
Marine caves are characterized by wide environmental variability for the interaction between marine and continental processes. Their conditions may be defined as extreme for inhabiting organisms due to the enclosed morphology, lack of light, and scarcity of nutrients. Therefore, it is necessary to [...] Read more.
Marine caves are characterized by wide environmental variability for the interaction between marine and continental processes. Their conditions may be defined as extreme for inhabiting organisms due to the enclosed morphology, lack of light, and scarcity of nutrients. Therefore, it is necessary to identify reliable ecological indicators for describing and assessing environmental conditions in these habitats even more than elsewhere. This review aims to provide the state of art related to the application of benthic foraminifera as proxies in the (paleo)ecological characterization of different habitats of marine caves. Special attention was addressed to a research project focused on Mediterranean marine caves with different characteristics, such as extent, morphology, freshwater influence, salinity, sediment type, oxygenation, and organic matter supply. This review aims to illustrate the reliability of foraminifera as an ecological and paleoecological indicator in these habitats. They respond to various environmental conditions with different assemblages corresponding to a very detailed habitat partitioning. Because marine caves may be considered natural laboratories for environmental variability, the results of these studies may be interpreted in the perspective of the global variability to understand the environmental drivers of future changes in marine systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent and Fossil Submarine Caves)
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