Welcome to the Subterranean Ecology Institute, Inc. (SEI), a federal 501(c)3 non-profit corporation.
SEI is documenting, studying & conserving subterranean ecosystems,
providing greater understanding and protection for our fragile heritage
underfoot. Through outreach and education, we hope to touch people’s
lives, and give them a greater appreciation of the importance of
subterranean ecosystems.
Lava tubes, such as this one in northern California, often have a unique fauna of cave-limited organisms adapted to cool moist conditions.
A cliff-face cave entrance in Puerto Rico, looking out over agricultural fields. The ways in which humans utilize the landscape has a major influence on subterranean ecosystems. SEI seeks to help local communities better understand the connectivity of their above ground activities with the subterranean realm. Minor changes to land use practices can protect subterranean diversity and our natural heritage.
Cave researchers in a shallow cave in the Bahamas. Note the tree roots hanging down into the cave. Energy from trees and other vegetation is critical to the functioning of subterranean ecosystems, thus we see close ties between above-ground vegetative communities and subterranean ecosystem health.
In the western United States, hot, dry, arid terrain between caves can function as a major barrier to dispersal, and thus in some areas there are higher levels of endemicity of cave faunas, as for this cave in Utah. Without basic knowledge of the fauna of specific areas, land managers don’t have the tools needed to make informed decisions regarding resource protection.
Copyright 2012-2019 Subterranean Ecology Institute, Inc.
