9420033, PI-KANE and KINKLE: Groundwater ecosystems harbor unusual and largely un-described biotic communities. Groundwater ecosystems in hydrothermal regions or in areas where reduced sulfur is present can receive energy in the form of hydrogen sulfide. Ecosystems based around energy from chemical sources (e.g. hydrogen sulfide, methane, ammonium, manganese, iron) were found at hydrothermal vents in the deep oceans in 1977, and a groundwater ecosystem with similar possible sources of energy was recently found in Romania. A comprehensive analysis of this ecosystem and the microbial and invertebrate communities is to be studied by this project. This research is important for four reasons. First, this reasonably accessible cave ecosystem in Romania provides the chance to test if chemosynthesis, rather than photosynthesis, produces the organic matter which feeds the organisms in this ecosystem as it does in marine hydrothermal vent communities. Second, the cave is home to a large number of endemic organisms previously unknown to science which can be more thoroughly characterized and described. Third, the project strengthens a strong collaboration between U.S. and Romanian scientists. Fourth, the mechanism of producing organic matter from the oxidation of sulfide creates sulfuric acid as a byproduct. This process may well explain the method by which rapid formation of large caves can occur such as is found at Carlsbad and Lechuguilla Caverns in the southwestern United States.
