Volta
Nematodes of soft bottoms from the ‘Po’ol Tunich’ cave system, Quintana Roo, Mexico
The Yucatán Peninsula is a vast karst platform that hosts superficial ecosystems such as sinkholes or underground cave systems. This study aims to give the first nematode species list for and explain their distribution at the Po´ol Tunich cave system. Samplings were carried out from September 2015 to February 2016, at five sampling sites along the cavern system. At each site, two sediment samples were collected with a polyvinylchloride pipe (PVC) corer; sediments were processed by decantation, and meiofauna was collected with a 45 µm sieve. Nematodes were picked manually, mounted on glass slides and identified. At three sites (1, 3 and 5), water temperature and electric conductivity were measured with HOBO data loggers. The nematode fauna was represented by …