Center of studies on
Subterranean Biology

Physicochemical and spatial variables of bat guano deposits (pH,organic matter percentage, distance from the cave entrance, area and shape of deposits) were analyzed for richness and abundance of arthropod communities in different caves in Bahia and Minas Gerais. Specimens were sampled of at least 35 families of Acari, Araneae, Pseudoscorpiones, Isopoda, Coleoptera, Collembola, Diptera, Ensifera, Heteroptera, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Isoptera, Lepidoptera, Neuroptera, Psocoptera, Siphonaptera, Thysanoptera, and Zygentoma. The richness and diversity of invertebrates were correlated with the area and the distance from the entrance of the caves, to pH, moisture and organic matter content of the guano deposits. Communities associated with bat guano are apparently more dependent on the guano microenvironment itself rather than the general environment of the cave.