💧 Groundwater is vital for people, food, and ecosystems, but irrigation can threaten it through habitat loss and contamination. #DarCo (#BiodivProtect) & #SubBioMon (#BiodivMon) call for sustainable practices, precision tech, and stronger biomonitoring.
https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biaf016

🌋 Volcanic aquifers: hidden biodiversity! #DarCo (#BiodivProtect) shows how geochemistry & microbes shape unique crustacean communities in Italian aquifers. Hydrogeological contexts within aquifers must be taken into account.
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1237-2025

🦇 Caves have long captivated human imagination. #DarCo (#BiodivProtect) explores the power of collaboration between art and science to boost subterranean ecosystem conservation.
https://doi.org/10.3897/subtbiol.51.139954

🦠 Healthy rivers rely on groundwater exchanges! #DarCo (#BiodivProtect) presents Schellencandona rhodanensis sp. n., a new ostracod species from the Rhône watershed, key to mapping up/downwellings & understanding these ecosystems.
https://doi.org/10.1051/limn/2025001

🦠 Cave copepods aren't always slow. #DarCo (#BiodivProtect) & #SubBioMon (#BiodivMon) compare two Diacyclops species. Findings reveal high metabolism for one species, challenging assumptions. Both show thermal stability, suggesting adaptability to moderate temperature increases.
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3298/12/1/32

🪲 #DarCo (#BiodivProtect) studied copepods in Italian caves, finding high diversity shaped by geographic distance and climate (especially temperature), linking regional climate to subterranean biodiversity.
https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13953

𝗗𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝘃𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝘂𝗹𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗗𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗼 𝘇𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗻- 𝗲𝗻 𝘃𝘂𝘂𝗿𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗸𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗳𝗵𝗲𝗯𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝗹𝗸𝗮𝗮𝗿

De 9-jarige hulphond Darco van de slechtziende Brenda overleed op 4 januari nadat hij was geschrokken van vuurwerk. Dit bericht maakte veel los bij hondenbezitters, maar ook bij voor- en tegenstanders van een vuurwerkverbod, ziet RTL...

https://www.rtl.nl/lifestyle/artikel/5491102/hulphond-darco-overleden-vuurwerk-slechtziende-brenda-hondenbezitter

#hulphond #Darco #vuurwerk

💧 What's the impact of small hydro power plants? #DarCo (#BiodivProtect) shows how one altered a stream's hyporheic zone, affecting copepods & environmental conditions. Needed: Strategies to mitigate sediment accumulation and maintain habitat.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/rra.4404

Our international collaborative team in the #Biodiversa funded project #DarCo has published a perspective paper in npj biodiversity on how to preserve subterranean ecosystems: https://doi.org/10.1038/s44185-023-00035-1

Despite uncertainties, our paper emphasizes the timely and critical assessment of general criteria for #subterranean #biodiversity protection, proposing solutions to enhance the coverage of subterranean ecosystems within European protected areas.

Are you involved with subterranean ecosystems?🔦
Please fill out the survey by the #DarCo initiative, funded by @BiodiversaPlus!

🇬🇧 https://shorturl.at/zBMOW
🇮🇹 https://shorturl.at/hjsv7
🇪🇸 https://shorturl.at/dezI6
🇵🇹 https://shorturl.at/chjzN
🇩🇪 https://shorturl.at/BLXY7
🇸🇮 https://shorturl.at/aADP1
🇷🇴 https://shorturl.at/cmNXY

#caves #underground #groundwater #policymakers #speleologists #enterprises #NGOs