Chapter 4 Habitats
Bat, Northern Long-eared Bat, and Little Brown Bat. Chapter 5 provides additional information on disease and pathogens affecting wildlife, including WNS.
Nearly a thousand species and subspecies known from caves and associated subterranean habitats in the United States have been described (Culver et al. 2000; Christman and Culver 2001) . Various surveys and investigations have been conducted in many caves and mines in attempts to document significant wildlife or geological resources in North Carolina. However, no comprehensive evaluation has ever occurred in the state other than for bats in caves. Caves also provide important habitat for cavespiders ( Nesticus spp.), millipedes, crustaceans, pseudoscorpions, and crickets (TNC and SAFC 2000) . Not only is the condition of caves and mines quite variable in North Carolina, but also our state of knowledge about the use of caves and mines by plants and animals is extremely variable. Habitat specialists and species with restricted ranges will likely be some of the greatest affected by the combined effects of habitat loss and climate change. Troglobites are cave-dwelling organisms that have adapted to darkness, have no skin pigment, and are blind because they spend their entire lives underground. Troglobites include fish, salamanders, crayfish, insects, and spiders. They cannot live outside a cave, and their survival may be threatened if the cave environment is damaged or altered. The National Speleological Society (NSS) notes that water pollution, visitor traffic, trash, flooding, and a change in air patterns and temperature contribute to disturbing a cave’s fragile food web and ecosystem. One cave complex has been developed as a recreational destination in North Carolina and many other cave or mine systems have experienced some level of human visitation. Many of the wildlife species that use caves, if not the caves themselves, have been impacted by human activities, including both direct impacts (e.g., repeated disturbance during bat hibernation) and indirect impacts (e.g., habitat changes that make microhabitat conditions inside the cave or mine unsuitable). Human use of caves can cause alteration of the physical structure of the caves themselves, changes in the water chemistry or hydrology within the cave, or destruction of cave structures and cave-dwelling organisms (Fleury 2009) . Dripwater flows are critical both to cave biota and to the microclimates of the caves themselves, and if those flows carry surface- level contaminants, the entire cave environment is affected (Fleury 2009) . It is believed many smaller caves and mines have been impacted by nearby development, though there is little to no documentation of the occurrences. Careless disposal of wastes or excessive fertilization in agricultural areas can have devastating impacts on cave life by altering the water chemistry (Watson et al. 1997; Gillieson 1996) . Though it rarely happens, caves can also be destroyed by aquifer drawdown, as sinkholes can form on the surface and collapse so they fill in the cave. It is usually not possible to restore a cave to its original condition after it has been degraded by human activity; for that reason, conservation is a preferred strategy (Elliott 2004) .
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2025 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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