The Frasassi Stygobionts and their Sulfidic Environment a scientific conference and workshop organized by the Federazione Speleologica Marchigiana, and the Osservatorio Geologico di Coldigioco Hotel Frasassi - September 10-13, 2009 PROGRAM Thursday 10 8:00 Breakfast 9:00 Welcome by the local authorities 9:20 Introduction: the FSM-OGC research program on the aquatic fauna of the Frasassi cave complex A. Montanari 9:30 Geologic setting of the Frasassi cave complex A. Montanari 10:15 The hypogene caves of the Apennines, with special regard to the Frasassi karst S. Galdenzi 10:45 Coffee break 11:05 Environments and technical aspects of the Frasassi cave complex S. Mariani, M. Mainiero, S. Cerioni etc. 11:50 Stygobionts of the Frasassi cave complex: a review A. Montanari 13:00 Lunch break Afternoon excursion 15:00 Geological hike through the Frasassi stratigraphic succession 16:00 Visit the geo-speleologic museum at San Vittore 16:30 Visit the Frasassi Sulfidic Spring 17:30 Visit the Grotta Grande del Vento (tourist part) 19:00 Return to the Hotel Frasassi 20:00 Dinner 1 Friday 11 8:00 Breakfast 9:00 Sulfur isotope geochemistry relating to the Frasassi cave system T. Maruoka and S. Galdenzi 9:30 Biological controls on detailed sulfur cycling and the formation of the Frasassi caves G. Druschel, D. Eastman, and J. L. Macalady 10:00 S isotope investigation of sulfur cycling in the Frassassi cave system: A case study of chemotrophic sulfide oxidation A. Zerkle, J. L. Macalady, and J. Farquhar 10:30 Coffee break 11:00 Metabolic activity of a cyanobacterial mat in a sulfidic spring emerging from the Frasassi cave system, Italy S. Häusler, J. Klatt, and L. Polerecky 11:30 Microbial food webs in Movile Cave, Romania C. Murrell 12:00 Microbial life along environmental gradients in karst habitats J. Mulec, A. S. Engel, J. Walochnik, A. Oarga, G. Kosi, A. Krivograd Klemenčič 12:00 Sulfur oxidizing extremophiles from the caves of Acquasanta Terme, Italy D. S. Jones, D. Tobler, I. Shaperdoth, S. Galdenzi , M. Mainiero, and J. L. Macalady 13:00 Lunch break 15:00 Frasassi's microbial sulfur world: Progress and prospects J. L. Macalady, D. S. Jones, S. Dattagupta, I. Schaperdoth, H. L. Albrecht, K. S. Dawson, D. Tobler, S. Galdenzi, S. Cerioni, and S. Mariani 15:30 Metagenomic, phylogenetic, and culture-based analysis of extremely acidic sulfidic cave snottites D. S. Jones, I. Shaperdoth, J. H. Patel, and J. L. Macalady 16:00 Enigmatic archaea from the dark, anoxic terrestrial subsurface J. L Macalady, D. S. Jones, R. McCauley, I. Shaperdorth, D. Bloom, and S. Mariani 16:30 Coffee break 17:00 Cave Biology and the Replicated Evolutionary Experiment R. Borowsky 2 17:30 The protozoan ciliates of the Frasassi caves: a potential source of bioactive molecules for biotechnological applications F. Buonanno, Chandramohan, B. Di Pretoro, A. La Terza, C. Ortenzi, and Santosh Kumar 18:00 A possibly opportunistic clitellate annelid belonging to the genus Potamothrix (family Naididae) in the microbial ecosystems of the Frasassi caves (Italy) C. Èrseus 18:30 Mollusks of the karstic complex of Frasassi M. Bodon, S. Cianfanelli, and A. Montanari 20:00 Dinner Saturday 12 8:00 Breakfast 9:00 Reconnaissance of ostracod assemblages in the Frasassi cave system, Sentino River, and adjacent sulfidic spring D. Peterson, A. Montanari, and S. Mariani 9:30 What lies beneath: diversity, ecology and evolution of stygobiotic copepods (Crustacea, Copepoda) D. Galassi, B. Fiasca, E. Insom, and A. Montanari 10:00 The subterranean genus Niphargus Schiodte, 1847 (Amphipoda, fam. Niphargidae), taxonomy, origin, and relationships between Italian and Balkan members of this genus G. Karaman 10:30 Coffee break 11:00 Subterranean assemblages of the genus Niphargus: the role of functional morphology C. Fišer and S. Prevorčnik 11:30 Observations on Niphargus in the Frasassi Cave System B. Borowsky 12:00 The Niphargus symbiosis from the Frasassi Cave ecosystem: a case of multiple partners? S. Dattagupta 12:30 Ecology and diversity of an amphipod – bacterial ectosymbiosis from the Frasassi cave complex in Central Italy J. Bauermeister 13:00 Lunch break 3 Afternoon 15:00 Discussion on future projects and the proceeding volume 20:00 Dinner Sunday 13 8:00 Breakfast 9:00 Excursions guided by the FSM speleologists to observe and sample different lakes within the Frasassi caves (Bugianardo, Grotta Solfurea, Lago Verde, Pozzo dei Cristalli, Lago Claudia). 13:00 Lunch break 15:00 Visit the Geomicrobiolab and the mesocosms at the Geological Observatory of Coldigioco, with local wine, cheese, and traditional food tasting 20:00 Last supper at Hotel Frasassi or Festa della Polenta in Apiro (weather permitting) 4 ABSTRACTS 5 6 Ecology and diversity of an amphipod – bacterial ectosymbiosis from the Frasassi cave complex in Central Italy Jan Bauermeister Courant Research Centre Geobiology, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Goldschmidtstr. 3, 37077 Göttingen, Germany. [email protected] A symbiotic relationship between the troglobitic Niphargus amphipod and chemoautotrophic bacteria has been recently discovered in the hypogean karst complex of Frasassi (Genga, Italy). Hitherto, the diversity of this chemosynthetic association has been underestimated. Niphargus ictus has so far been assumed to be the only Niphargus species in sulfidic streams and lakes of the cave system. Molecular and morphological analyses, however, revealed the presence of four different cave-dwelling Niphargus populations. According to behavioral observations, some species are active swimmers, populating calm and deep waters, whereas others prefer to crawl on sediment and rocks in flowing streams or near cave springs. Molecular fingerprinting techniques were employed on Niphargus samples from different cave sites to investigate the diversity and eventual distribution patterns of their associated bacterial epibionts. Astonishingly, preliminary results from automated ribosomal intergenic spacer analyses (ARISA) suggest that the composition of the epibiotic communities correlates rather with the host species than with environmental conditions. Host behavior and microhabitat preference might be crucial impediments to symbiont interchanges in cave waters inhabited by more than one Niphargus species (e.g., Pozzo dei Cristalli). The installation of two aquaria filled with cave sediment and synthetic cave water has enabled us to maintain distinct Niphargus populations (“swimmers” and “crawlers”) in captivity for the purpose of future long-term studies on the amphipod – symbiont ecology under controlled conditions. 7 Notes __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ 8 Mollusks of the Frasassi karstic complex and adjacent sulfidic spring Marco Bodon1, Simone Cianfanelli2, and Alessandro Montanari3 1 Dipartimento di Scienze Ambientali, Università di Siena, Via Mattioli 4, 53100 Siena, Italia. 2Museo di Stria NaturaleUniversità di Firenze, Via Romana 17, 50125 Firenze, Italia [email protected] 2Osservatorio Geologico di Coldigioco, Cda. Coldigioco 4, 62021 Apiro, Italia [email protected] Following the discovery of hydrobiid shells in the remains of subfossil eels found in 2005 at Lago delle Anguille, in the inner part of the Grotta del Fiume at Frasassi (Mariani et al., 2007), we have undertaken a systematic search for this small gastropod in other parts of the cave complex and in the sulfidic spring on the right bank of the Sentino River, which is located in the immediate vicinity of the cave entrance. Eight of the 11 mollusks species identified from empty shells in the sulfidic spring are not typical of sulfidic or creno-stigobiontic environments but they belong to the local