SM1.1 Anchialine caves

SM1. Subterranean tidal biome

SM1

Profile summary

Full profile at https://global-ecosystems.org/explore/groups/SM1.1

Brief description

Anchialine caves contain water bodies that have a subterranean connection to the sea and no or little direct connection to the atmosphere. These ecosystems are structured by strong salinity gradients. A primarily marine community influenced by tides and currents at the cave entrance transitioning to a more insular and specialised biota in still brackish waters influenced by rainfall percolation deep in the landward section of the cave. They occur where carbonate rocks and lava tubes meet coastlines worldwide.

Key features

Cave-bound waterbodies connected to the sea with a gradient of tidal influence and salinity. Filter feeders, scavengers and predators limited by light and nutrients.

Overview of distribution

Limestone, basalt and more rarely lithic substrates coastal regions globally.

Map description

Indicative distributions of Anchialine caves and pools were based on mapped areas of carbonate rock outcrop (Williams & Ting Fong 2016) and lava flows intersecting the coast, which were aggregated within a template of 1-degree grid cells..

Map code and version: SM1.1.web.grid v3.0. DOI

Version history

Profile versions

  • v2.1 (2022-04-06): TM Iliffe; D Brankovits; V Gerovasileiou; B Gonzalez; A Martínez García; DA Keith.1
  • v2.01 (NA): NA.
  • v2.0 (2020-06-17): TM Iliffe; D Brankovits; V Gerovasileiou; B Gonzalez; A Martínez García; DA Keith.
  • v1.0 (2020-01-20): DA Keith.

Available maps

Read more details about the current map versions here.

  • Indicative Map (code: SM1.1.IM.grid, version v3.0)
  • Web navigation (code: SM1.1.web.grid, version v3.0)

Read more details about older or alternative versions of maps for this functional group.

  • Indicative Map: discarded (code: SM1.1.IM.grid, version v2.0)
  • Indicative Map: discarded (code: SM1.1.IM.orig, version v1.0)
  • Web navigation: requires review (code: SM1.1.web.orig, version v1.0)

References

Main references

References used in the different versions of the profiles.

  • Iliffe TM (2000) Anchialine cave ecology Ecosystems of the World. Vol. 30. Subterranean Ecosystems (Eds. H Wilkens, DC Culver, WF Humphreys), pp 59-76. Elsevier, Amsterdam. WorldCat entry

Map references

References used in the different versions of the maps (current and discarded).

  • Becker JJ, Sandwell DT, Smith WHF, Braud J, Binder B, Depner J, Fabre D, Factor J, Ingalls S, Kim S-H, Ladner R, Marks K, Nelson S, Pharaoh A, Trimmer R, Von Rosenberg J, Wallace G, Weatherall P (2009) Global Bathymetry and Elevation Data at 30 Arc Seconds Resolution: SRTM30_PLUS, Marine Geodesy 32: 355-371. DOI:10.1080/01490410903297766
  • Williams P, Ting Fong Y (2016) World map of carbonate rock outcrops v3.0 The University of Auckland, Auckland. Webpage

Footnotes

  1. This is the current version available at official site.↩︎