We compare two methods of assessing explanatory style--the content analysis of verbatim explanations (CAVE) and the Attributional Style Questionnaire (ASQ). The CAVE technique is a method that allows the researcher to analyze any naturally occurring verbatim materials for explanatory style. This technique permits the measurement of various populations that are unwilling or unable to take the AS...

In 2003, during an examination of Gough’s Cave for Palaeolithic art, a figure was noted on the wall of an alcove, in an area of the cave not affected by blasting. The figure resembles a mammoth. Close inspection suggests that engraved lines may complement natural features of the rock surface suggestive of the trunk and possibly also the tusks. The geomorphic history of the cave gives a context ...

Cave micrometeorology is important to cave atmosphere composition, speleogenesis, growth of cave decorations, speleothem-based paleoclimate, and cave biology studies. This research project was undertaken to better define micrometeorological patterns and their interactions in subterranean cavities using the latest air temperature sensing instruments and by applying mathematical computer modeling...

Despite the greater information content of genomic DNA, ancient DNA studies have largely been limited to the amplification of mitochondrial sequences. Here we describe metagenomic libraries constructed with unamplified DNA extracted from skeletal remains of two 40,000-year-old extinct cave bears. Analysis of approximately 1 megabase of sequence from each library showed that despite significant ...

The growth rate and composition of cave calcite deposits (speleothems) are often used as proxies for past environmental change. There is, however, the potential for bias in the speleothem record due to seasonal fluctuations in calcite growth and dripwater chemistry. It has been proposed that the growth rate of speleothem calcite in Texas caves varies seasonally in response to density-driven flu...

Synopsis Cave-adapted animals are characterized by extreme reduction or complete absence of eyes, reflecting their lack of exposure to daylight. Given the overall constancy of abiotic variables in the cave environment, one would also expect the relaxation and eventual loss of circadian rhythms, and with it, the regressive evolution of the underlying genetic biological clock. Remarkably, however...

Cave-dwelling animals exhibit remarkable convergence in multiple cave-related traits, yet the genetic mechanisms responsible for the evolution and integration of many such traits remain unclear. Astyanax mexicanus is a model cave-dwelling fish with sighted surface-dwelling (surface fish) and blind cave-dwelling (cavefish) forms. Using a genetic cross between these morphs, we discovered signific...

Existing methods of cave survey are time consuming and require significantly more time than naturally moving through the cave. The efficiency of these methods, even in the case of state-of-the-art laser-scanning technology, is fundamentally limited by the requirement that measurements be taken at static locations. We present a mobile approach to cave mapping, in which a lightweight 3D laser sca...

BACKGROUND The best-known dangerous spiders belong to the six genera. The genus Loxosceles or violin spiders are well known for their ability to cause skin necrosis or loxoscelism. All Loxosceles species have medical importance due to their necrotizing venom. The present article reports the occurrence of L. rufescens in Charkhab Cave, south of Iran (Larestan). METHODS The specimens were colle...

Few studies have focused on non-troglomorphic fishes occurring in Brazilian caves, especially those the Caatinga region. The present study is first survey of from karstic areas Jandaíra Formation Rio Grande do Norte State, northeastern Brazil. This region characterized by a high concentration caves and rich subterranean biodiversity, troglobitic invertebrates, but remains considered gap knowled...