Hotspots of cave biodiversity were mapped globally on the basis of recently published species lists of cave-limited invertebrates and vertebrates. Lists of sites with 20 aquatic or 20 terrestrial cave-limited taxa were mapped on a global scale, with special reference to Pleistocene glaciation, and present-day ecoregions. Twelve sites had 20 or more aquatic species; 17 had 20 or more terrestrial species. Only three sites from the Dinaric Karst had both 20 aquatic and 20 terrestrial species. Aquatic sites were either chemolithoautotrophic or along a ridge at about 45 (Europe) and at about 35 degrees north (in the United States). The terrestrial sites were chemolithoautotrophic or along the ridge but were also found in moist forests in tropics and subtropics. We describe emerging patterns of biodiversity hotspots and discuss the drivers of these patterns, including historical climate change, cave systems density, and resource availability, and highlight conservation challenges associated with protecting these unique ecosystems.

Studying the behavioral ecology of long-extinct species is challenging due to the difficulty in measuring the behavioral phenotype and correlating this with genetic and environmental factors. However, a multidisciplinary approach integrating isotope analysis of diet and ancient DNA analysis of genetic relationships offers a potential framework to test the proximate causes of dietary preferences. Our study focuses on Late Pleistocene cave bears from the Romanian Carpathians. Stable isotope analysis of bone collagen reveals substantial lifetime variation in food plant preferences among individuals. We find that bears with similar diets do not cluster according to their population structure, sex, time period, climatic conditions, or location. This disconnect suggests that diet preferences in cave bears are not genetically inherited, and instead that individuals adapted their diets based on foraging experience. This integrative approach opens avenues for understanding Pleistocene animal behavior, leveraging ancient biomolecules synergistically to reveal insights otherwise inaccessible.

Research infrastructures dedicated to long-term ecosystem research are important to support the assessment of the impacts of global change on landscapes, ecosystems and society. The European Long-Term Ecological Research Network (LTER Europe) is an initiative with the main objective of improving the understanding of the processes that shape ecosystems and socio-ecological systems under the influence of global change. In this paper we briefly present the twenty years of research since Slovenia joined this initiative and the main challenges and research activities carried out within the LTER Slovenia consortium.

A distributed research infrastructure such as LifeWatch ERIC necessitates close cooperation among the various components that constitute the research infrastructure and contribute to the overall services, facilities and resources it offers to the user community. In-kind contributions are non-monetary contributions, consisting of labour, services, facilities and access to resources, typically provided by the distributed components of the research infrastructure. The financing for in-kind contributions is usually provided by the national funding agency on behalf of the LifeWatch member country or by the member directly, with a value being accredited towards the member's funding obligations to LifeWatch ERIC. The management and validation of in-kind contributions towards shared objectives are integral to the legal framework supporting LifeWatch ERIC. This involves a rigorous assessment process to verify each in-kind contribution. This short article outlines that process and explores the function of the In-Kind Contributions Committee (IKCC) at LifeWatch ERIC.

The study was conducted in subalpine karst and in lowland karst in Slovenia—Lake Bohinj, Lake Bled, Mt Komna, Lesce, Rižana Spring, and Malni Spring. Both lakes are karst lakes of glacio-tectonic origin, with Lake Bled being one of the largest tourist attractions in Slovenia. The lakes were sampled along different transects. We also collected two sediment samples from Lake Bohinj and one sediment sample from Lake Bled. On the other hand, we sampled two biggest karst springs in Slovenia that are used as sources of drinking water for up to 120,000 people during the peak tourist season on the Slovenian coast. In the FTIR-ATR analysis of the particles, we found mainly PA polymers in all samples, closely followed by copolymers and resins. Lake samples also contained larger amounts of PP, while the spring samples contained more rubber polymers. Of the two lakes, Lake Bohinj was the most polluted, with 0.684 MPs/m³ being the highest concentration. This is surprising because Lake Bohinj is also located in the Triglav National Park and is a less popular attraction compared to Lake Bled. Malni Spring showed a higher mean MP concentration than Rižana Spring (0.000274 ± 0.000448 vs. 0.0000498 ± 0.0000642 MPs/m³, respectively), and the negative-binomial model indicated a significant site effect (p = 0.046), but the difference could be due to the highly torrential nature of Rižana Spring. Future studies would require longer sampling campaigns under different hydrological conditions to better understand the dynamics of the MP transport in karst environments that will provide a stronger scientific basis for sustainable freshwater management, the protection of drinking-water resources, and the development of effective measures to reduce plastic pollution at the catchment scale.