STIGE – CLIMAQUIFERI

Thanks to their intrinsic thermal stability, groundwater ecosystems serve as powerful models for the comparative study of global change biology. These fragile environments are threatened by anthropogenic factors that can disrupt stygofauna communities (i.e., aquatic invertebrates, mainly crustaceans, inhabiting groundwater) and promote the colonization of groundwater by surface-dwelling animals. A mechanistic understanding of energy use and resource utilization patterns of organisms living at the interface between hypogean and epigean habitats is critical for predicting the future functioning of groundwater ecosystems.

The PRIN 2022 project STIGE – CLIMAQUIFERI (STygofauna at the Interface between surficial and Groundwater Ecosystem: CLIMate change effects on AQUatic Invertebrates Fitness, Energy and Resource use in Italian aquifers) aims to study the energetic and behavioral patterns of mobile aquatic organisms, with a particular focus on stygofauna. STIGE – CLIMAQUIFERI integrates ecological theory, field observations, laboratory experiments, and modeling approaches. Specifically, the Pace of Life Syndrome hypothesis (POLS) posits that closely related species or populations experiencing different ecological conditions should exhibit differences in a range of energetic, physiological, and behavioral traits. Investigating the implications of POLS in organisms exposed to different levels of environmental variability (i.e., epigean vs. hypogean aquatic invertebrates) supports the understanding of ecological responses to novel environmental conditions.