Abstract The diversity and ecology of meiofauna in caves is largely unknown. Therefore, we studied one anchialine and five freshwater caves in November 2014 and January 2016 in western Cuba. We recorded 10 invertebrate taxa with the most abundant being: Nematoda, Ostracoda, Acari and Copepoda. The meiofauna communities in the caves were relatively impoverished probably due to the combination of oligotrophic conditions and limited colonization by organisms from outside. We found 28 nematode taxa of which 23 never have been previously reported inhabiting caves. The previously exclusive marine genera Desmodora and Paralongicyatholaimus were reported for the first time in freshwater environments. Ironus cf. ignavus was the most abundant species in agreement with studies elsewhere. In freshwater caves, water runoff and organism dispersal from the surface likely determines the colonization of the sediment. Parthenogenetic and predatory/omnivore nematodes dominated in the studied caves probably due to the physical isolation and oligotrophy in the underground systems.

中文翻译：

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古巴西部淡水和无水洞的线虫多样性

摘要 洞穴中小型动物的多样性和生态学在很大程度上是未知的。因此，我们于 2014 年 11 月和 2016 年 1 月在古巴西部研究了一个 Anchialine 和五个淡水洞穴。我们记录了 10 个无脊椎动物类群，数量最多的是：线虫纲、介形纲、螨类和桡足类。洞穴中的小型动物群落相对贫困，可能是由于贫营养条件和外部生物有限的定殖。我们发现了 28 种线虫类群，其中 23 种以前从未被报道过栖息在洞穴中。以前独有的海洋属 Desmodora 和 Paralongicyatholaimus 首次在淡水环境中被报道。Ironus 参见 ignavus 是最丰富的物种，与其他地方的研究一致。在淡水洞穴中，地表的水径流和生物体扩散可能决定了沉积物的定植。孤雌生殖和掠食性/杂食性线虫在研究的洞穴中占主导地位，这可能是由于地下系统的物理隔离和贫营养。