Exploring the homogeneity of terrestrial subterranean communities at a local spatial scale

2. We explored the extent to which subterranean arthropod communities are homogenous at a local spatial scale of less than 1 km(2), along with which cave-specific environmental features result in a departure from the expected homogeneous pattern. We approached this question by studying richness and turnover in terrestrial invertebrate communities of 27 caves in a small karst massif in the Western Italian Alps.

1. Although caves are generally perceived as isolated habitats, at the local scale, they are often interconnected via a network of fissures in the bedrock. Accordingly, caves in close proximity are expected to host the same, or very similar, animal communities.