EuroSpeleo 2016
Amazing Caves: Amazing Microbes
Oral|Dr Hazel Barton

Abstract
Caves, by their nature, are aphotic and geologically isolated. It would therefore seem that the microbial ecology of these environments would be of limited interest. Yet it is the isolated nature of these environments that make them so fascinating to study. Not only do caves contain a remarkable and varied microbial ecosystem, but their very geologic isolation allows us to examine processes that cannot be studied elsewhere. The absence of disturbance (such as diurnal, seasonal or meteorological) allows us to study ecosystems that have been in equilibrium for thousands of years and reveal aspects of microbial evolution and physiology that would be impossible to study in surface ecosystems.
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Field|Dr Bob Mehew
Field Trip - Hands On Rope Testing
Oral|Mr Frank Pearson
Caverns of the Mind: Science and the Imagination in 18th Century Caves
Oral|Miss Oana Chachula
The history of exploration in Șura Mare Cave (Romania)
Oral|Miss Helen Fairclough
Pester Plateau - A student expedition to Serbia
Field|Mr Whittle Sean
Visit to the Headquarters of the Cave Rescue Organisation, Clapham
Oral|Mr Mike Futrell
Workflows and Data Formats Supporting Wider Use of Cave Data
Oral|Dr Nadja Zupan Hajna
Life and water in karst regions
Oral|Mr Peter Glanvill
Mendip Round-Up
Field|Mr Mike Bedford
Demonstration of Electronic Equipment for Caving
Workshop|Mr Robin Gray
Art Workshop 4 - Drawing the great Chamber in GG