Subterranean Biology UBB

🤝 Biodiversity action is a shared responsibility.
Governments, indigenous peoples, local communities, businesses, youth, and civil society all have a role to play.

This , meet Bärbel Vogel – a woman who has spent over 30 years bringing speleology to the global policy table 🦇

As President of the German Speleological Federation and the UIS Karst & Cave Protection Commission, Bärbel helped invent the Cave Animal of the Year campaign and the CaveLife App. Under her leadership, the VdHK gained accreditation with ECOSOC and UNEP – giving caves a voice in international policy.

In 2025, she became the NGO focal point for a landmark UNEA-7 resolution on karst ecosystems introduced by Indonesia. She also became the first speleologist involved in reviewing GEO-7 – the world's most comprehensive environmental assessment.

Join us to learn how cave conservation is going global.

🦇 When: May 22, 2026 – 3 PM EDT / 9 PM CEST / 5 AM AEST (the following day)
📍 Where: FB Live
📧 Contact: [email protected]

Together, we can accelerate the implementation of the – from the surface to the deepest karst.

🦇📍 No action is too small.
Every initiative contributes to a larger, global effort to halt and reverse biodiversity loss.

This , meet Val Hildreth-Werker – a woman who has spent nearly five decades leaving positive fingerprints on cave conservation 🪨🧗‍♀️

From restoring damaged speleothems to training miners, NGOs, and land managers worldwide, Val helped write the "bible of cave conservation" – a 600‑page open-access manual protecting fragile subterranean life.

Join us to learn how minimum-impact methods, ethics, and restoration protocols keep cave biodiversity alive for future generations.

🦇 When: May 22, 2026 – 3 PM EDT / 9 PM CEST / 5 AM AEST (May 23)
📍 Where: FB Live
📧 Contact: [email protected]

Let's turn awareness into action – underground and above.

🕷️ 🦠 🦇 Subterranean biodiversity shapes our lives, our livelihoods, and our future. Yet the solutions are often local.

This , let’s make the invisible visible — starting with what lies beneath our feet.

Join Dr. Stefano Mammola, Senior Researcher at Italy’s National Research Council, as he takes us into the hidden world of cave biodiversity. From spider ecology to conservation models for subterranean ecosystems, he’s showing how even the darkest, quietest places on Earth hold keys to understanding ecological change — and how local action can shape global protection strategies.

🕯️ When: May 22, 2026 – 3 PM EDT / 9 PM CEST / 5 AM AEST (May 23)
📍 Where: FB Live
📧 Contact: [email protected]

Let’s celebrate the Cave Animal of the Year and the researchers working to protect life in the shadows.

Our evening webinar series continues next Wednesday with a talk by Dr. Zenah Orndorff and Wil Orndorff talking about carbon dioxide studies in caves.

Join us Wednesday, May 20 at 7 PM CDT/8PM EDT for "Carbon Dioxide in karst caves - safety and science: examples from TX and VA"

Join online at
https://bucknell.zoom.us/j/5041312774

📣🌍Applications call for the Summer School in , fauna & habitats , 20 – 27 July 2026, Ic Ponor (Apuseni Mountains), is now open.

✅Along a 1 week the training will provide background on the assessment of subterranean biodiversity and the implementation of standardized monitoring protocols for cave-dwelling organisms and their habitats discussed in a series of theoretical lectures and applied field trips. The training aims to empower participants with:

• Taxonomic and Systematic Knowledge: Identification and study of subterranean fauna (e.g. beetles, spiders, aquatic and terrestrial crustaceans)
• Monitoring Methodologies: Practical, standardized approaches for sampling subterranean species and evaluating habitat status
• Conservation Management: Evidence-based approaches to protect the subterranean ecosystems from anthropogenic impacts
• Applied Field Skills: Experience in cave fauna & karst habitats monitoring to understand the assessment of cave biodiversity.

📆Application deadline: 31 May 2026
More details below 👇 https://biogeo.ubbcluj.ro/pages/taxonomie/?page_id=138146&lang=en

🌍 Join the global celebration – LIVE on Facebook! 🦇

On May 22nd, we mark the International Day for Biodiversity 2026 – and you're invited to a special Facebook Live event:

✨ "Celebrating Cave Biodiversity: Cave Animal of the Year Campaign" ✨

We are thrilled to host Dr. Stefano Mammola as our keynote speaker, diving into the hidden wonders of cave ecosystems and discussing how we can bridge science and society to protect the unique subterranean biodiversity.

📅 Date: May 22, 2026
⏰ Time: 3:00 PM ET / 9:00 PM CET / 6:00 AM AIST (following day)
📍 Where: Right here on Facebook – Live!

🔁 Set a reminder & share with friends!

Dear colleagues,

We are pleased to invite you to participate in the events marking the first celebration of the UNESCO International Day of Caves and Karst, to be held in Postojna, Slovenia, from 10 to 13 September 2026.

These events represent the symbolic and official launch of the global observance of the International Day of Caves and Karst, proclaimed by UNESCO in 2025. Please find attached the invitation and the preliminary programme of events, which will be held under the honorary patronage of the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr Nataša Pirc Musar, and under the patronage of UNESCO, with the support and cooperation of the Slovenian National Commission for UNESCO, Postojna Cave, Škocjan Caves Park, the Municipality of Postojna, the Municipality of Pivka, and the Speleological Association of Slovenia.


For more information and registration for the scientific conference and the official ceremony in Postojna Cave, please visit:

https://izrkp.zrc-sazu.si/en/dogodki/international-day-of-caves-and-karst-idck

Information on registration for the accompanying events, along with their detailed programs, will follow.

We look forward to your participation and to celebrating the beginning of this important global initiative together.

Kind regards,

Nadja Zupan Hajna

on behalf of the Organizing Committee

Karst Research Institute ZRC SAZU and International Union of Speleology (UIS)

Exciting news for the hydrogeology community!

The Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC) has officially launched the Master's Degree in Subsurface Hydrology. It is the first official university master's degree specialized in hydrogeology in Spain. The program trains professionals to sustainably manage groundwater and tackle the urgent challenges of climate change and water scarcity. The master's offers comprehensive training that combines field techniques with advanced modeling tools, applied geostatistics, and Artificial Intelligence to optimize decision-making. Backed by more than 50 years of experience forming professionals in the water sector, the Barcelona Hydrogeology Group is an international renowned point of reference.

Learn more: https://camins.upc.edu/en/Studies/master/subsurface-hydrology/msdsh?set_language=en

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¡Excelentes noticias para la comunidad hidrogeológica!

La Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC) ha lanzado el Máster Universitario en Hidrología Subterránea. Es el primer máster universitario oficial especializado en hidrogeología en España. El programa te capacita para liderar la gestión sostenible de las aguas subterráneas y afrontar los retos del cambio climático y la escasez de agua. El máster ofrece una formación integral que combina las técnicas de campo con herramientas avanzadas de modelización, geoestadística aplicada e Inteligencia Artificial para optimizar la toma de decisiones. Respaldado por más de 50 años de experiencia formando a profesionales de todo el mundo, el Grupo de Hidrología Subterránea de Barcelona es un referente internacional en el sector del agua.

Más información: https://camins.upc.edu/es/estudios/master/muhs/mhs?set_language=es

𝘌𝘱𝘩𝘺𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘢 𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘷𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘴, a freshwater sponge, is reported from Sabak-Ha and Suhem cenotes of Yucatan in Mexico, expanding the knowledge of the diversity and distribution of freshwater sponges in Yucatan cenotes.⤵
https://doi.org/10.3897/subtbiol.55.177524

Facultad de Ciencias LIPC UNAM UNAM campus Yucatán Harte Research Institute Laboratorio Nacional de Resiliencia Costera

✨ Meet our Speaker Series — BIO.T.A. 2026 continues! 🌍🧬
We are happy to introduce another speaker joining this year’s edition.

🪨 After completing his primary and secondary education in Miskolc (Hungary), Dr. György Less, graduated as a geologist from the Moscow Geological University in 1977. His first position was at the Geological Institute of Hungary, where he worked until 2005. He then moved to the Institute of Mineralogy and Geology at the University of Miskolc, where he became a professor in 2010.

He obtained his PhD in 1993 from Eötvös Loránd University (Budapest). In 2008, he habilitated at the University of Miskolc and, in the same year, was awarded the title of Doctor of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

His professional activity focuses on two main directions. One is geological mapping, within which he worked in the Aggtelek–Rudabánya area and the Bükk Mountains (NE Hungary), as well as in Central Libya. As a result, new geological maps and explanatory booklets for these areas were published under his leadership.

The other major research direction is the study of Eurasian Paleogene larger foraminifera (giant unicellular organisms). Among his most significant achievements is the monographic revision of orthophragmines—previously considered stratigraphically insignificant—based on extensive European material. The stratigraphic subdivision he developed was later incorporated into the Tethyan Paleocene–Eocene shallow benthic zonation based on larger foraminifera.

His work has been widely recognized, receiving a total of 3103 independent citations across his 220 published publications.

With this post, we conclude our BIO.T.A. 2026 speaker announcement series. We look forward to welcoming them at the symposium and sharing more updates about the event soon! 👀

.T.A.2026

As the World Water Day approaches (March 22nd), let's talk about the secret world underground. 💧🌍

We often think of groundwater as just a hidden reservoir – the water we tap into for drinking and farming. But did you know it's actually the world's largest unfrozen freshwater reserve, teeming with life?

Beneath our feet, in the dark aquifers and caves, exists a hidden world of thousands of unique species: blind cave eels, translucent crustaceans, and beetles that have evolved over millennia. These "architects of the underworld" aren't just fascinating; they are essential. They keep our aquifers healthy, filter our water, and even support hotspots of life on the surface.

The problem? We're pumping out this ancient water far faster than it can be renewed, putting this entire ecosystem – and the surface life it sustains – at risk.

This fascinating article from The Conversation explores this hidden world and the urgent need to protect it. It's a powerful reminder of the deep connection between what's above and below the ground.
👇 Read the full article here:
https://theconversation.com/we-rely-heavily-on-groundwater-but-pumping-too-much-threatens-thousands-of-underground-species-218919
Let's remember that protecting our planet means protecting it all – from the highest mountain to the deepest aquifer. 💙

Photo source: https://animalidigrotta.speleo.it/