Karst ecology

The primary goal of this course is to give students the theoretical and practical knowledge for understanding the biology and ecology of karst ecosystems, to present them examples and case studies of organisms, communities and habitats and biological processes occurring in these unique environments. Emphasis is also on conservation and management aspects.

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• Ecology and biology of karst surface and subterranean habitats and their biodiversity
• Karst wetlands: types of intermittent lakes, turloughs
• Sources of energy in subterranean environments
• Ecological and evolutionary survey of organisms
• Biotic interactions and community structure
• Colonization and speciation in subterranean environments: allopatric and parapatric speciation, vicariance and dispersal
• Biogeography
• Conservation and protection of surface and subterranean habitats and organisms

Knowledge and understanding:
Students get skills on ecology of karst ecosystems and subterranean habitats and biodiversity, karst ecosystem function, community ecology and biogeography. They get knowledge of analytical assessment and interpretation of karst ecosystems and understanding of energetic, structural and functional relations between ecosystem components, and anthropogenic impact.

Basic:

• Culver D. C., Pipan T. 2009: The Biology of Caves and Other Subterranean Habitats. Oxford University Press, Oxford. Catalogue
• Culver D. C., Pipan T. 2014: Shallow Subterranean Habitats. Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation. Oxford University Press, Oxford. Catalogue

Additional:

• Culver D. C., Kane T. C., Fong D. W. 1995: Adaptation and Natural Selection in Caves. The Evolution of Gammarus minus. Harvard Univ. Press, Cambridge. E-version
• Gaberščik A. 2003: Jezero, ki izginja. Monografija o Cerkniškem jezeru. Društvo ekologov Slovenije, Ljubljana.
• Griffiths H. I., Kryštufek B., Reed M. 2004: Balkan Biodiversity. Pattern and Process in the European Hotspot. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht. E-version
• Gibert J., Danielopol D. L., Stanford J. A. 1994: Groundwater Ecology. Academic Press, San Diego. E-version
• Pipan T. 2005: Epikarst – a promising habitat. Copepod fauna, its diversity and ecology: a case study from Slovenia (Europe). Založba ZRC, Ljubljana. E-version Catalogue
• White W. B., Culver D. C. 2012: Encyclopedia of Caves. Elsevier, Amsterdam. Catalogue E-version
• Wilkens H., Culver D. C., Humphreys W. 2000: Ecosystems of the World. Subterranean Ecosystems. Elsevier, Amsterdam. Catalogue
• Selected articles from scientific journals.

Short written seminar, its presentation and exam. 50/50

Full Professor of Karstology

Bibliography:

https://bib.cobiss.net/bibliographies/si/webBiblio/bib201_20211120_230418_a4271459.html

CULVER, David C., PIPAN, Tanja. The biology of caves and other subterranean habitats, (Biology of habitats). 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2019. XX, 301 str., ilustr. ISBN 978-0-19-882076-5. ISBN 978-0-19-882077-2. [COBISS.SI-ID 44574765].

CULVER, David C., PIPAN, Tanja. Shallow subterranean habitats : ecology, evolution, and conservation. 1st ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014. XXII, 258 str., ilustr., zvd., graf. prikazi. ISBN 978-0-19-964617-3. [COBISS.SI-ID 36933421].

CULVER, David C., PIPAN, Tanja. Subterranean ecosystems. V: SCHEINER, Samuel M. (ur.). Encyclopedia of biodiversity. 3rd ed. San Diego [etc.]: Elsevier, 2024. Vol. 1, str. 441-459, ilustr.

RAVBAR, Nataša, PIPAN, Tanja. Karst groundwater dependent ecosystems – typology, vulnerability and protection. V: MEHNER, Thomas (ur.), TOCKNER, Klement (ur.). Encyclopedia of inland waters. 2nd ed. Amsterdam; Oxford; Cambridge: Elsevier, 2022. Str. 460-473, ilustr. ISBN 978-0-12-819166-8, ISBN 978-0-12-822041-2. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128191668001821, DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-12-819166-8.00182-1. [COBISS.SI-ID 120285443].

DEHARVENG, Louis, PIPAN, Tanja, BEDOS, Anne, CULVER, David C. Hotspots of subterranean biodiversity redux. Diversity. 2022, vol. 14, issue 10, 794, 3 str. ISSN 1424-2818. https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/14/10/794/htm, DOI: 10.3390/d14100794. [COBISS.SI-ID 123392259].