Journal Article
The Towakkalak System, a hotspot of subterranean biodiversity in Sulawesi, Indonesia
Deharveng, L., Rahmadi, C., Suhardjono, Y.R. and Bedos, A.
Record Number:
5474
Year:
2021
Journal:
Diversity
Pages:
1-24
Volume:
13, 392
Notes:
Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Abstract:
Abstract: The Towakkalak System located in the Maros karst of South Sulawesi is currently the
richest of Southeast Asia in obligate subterranean species. It comprises several caves and shafts that
give access to the subterranean Towakkalak river as well as many unconnected fossil caves, stream
sinks, and springs located within its footprint. The total length of the caves linked to the active
system is 24,319 m and comprises two of the longest caves of Indonesia, Gua Salukkan Kallang and
Gua Tanette. Studies of its fauna began in 1985. There are 10 stygobionts and 26 troglobionts that are
known from the system. The smaller adjacent system of Saripa has 6 stygobionts and 18 troglobionts,
of which 1 and 3, respectively, are absent from Towakkalak. Like all tropical cave inventories, our
dataset has limits due to identification uncertainties, gaps in habitat (waters, guano) and taxonomic
coverage (micro-crustaceans, mites), sampling methods (pitfall trapping, Karaman–Chappuis), and
problems of ecological assignment. A number of additional species are therefore expected to be found
in the future. The Towakkalak and Saripa cave systems are included in the Bantimurung-Bulusaraung
National Park and are under efficient protection, but parts of the Maros karst outside the park are
under serious threat, mainly from quarrying.
Keywords: cave biology; stygobionts; troglobionts; hotspot cave; sampling biases; Southeast Asia
Times Cited:
1
Relevent Species:
Related Records:
Leclerc, P., Deharveng, L., Ng, P.K.L., Juberthie, C. and Decu, V. (2001)
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