Size Matters: Scalar Phenomenaand a Proposal for an EcologicalDefinition of 'Cave'

摘要

This paper uses a lot of specialistbiological terminology and I confess I hadto read it twice before I understood whatit was about. Underground habitats rangein size from tiny holes within the fabric ofthe rock (hosting microbes) up to largecaves that are accessible for direct scientificstudy. In subterranean biology there hasbeen a tendency to treat all totally darkvoids as essentiallysimilar, regardless ofsize. However, thecreatures that live insmall cracks have athree dimensionalworld: they live in thecrack. By contrast,most of the life seenin caves is foundon two dimensionalsurfaces (rock walls,mud banks, etc.).