De nuevo es la revista internacional Journal of Caves and Karst Studies, de la Sociedad Nacional de Espeleología (National Speleological Society) donde se publica un nuevo trabajo bioespeleológico muy interesante, concretamente sobre hongos aerotransportados en una mina de cobre en Polonia, titulado específicamente como "Microhabitat Influences the Occurrence of Airborne Fungi in Copper Mine in Poland " y firmado por Wojciech Pusz, Wlodzimierz Kita y Ryszard Weber.
Aquí os pongo el resumen en inglés, aunque podéis ver el artículo completo en:
ABSTRACT:
From January to April 2012 we studied the occurrence of air-borne fungi in the Lubin mining site, property of KGHM Polska Miedz´ SA. The research was conducted in three copper-mining shafts: Bolesław, Lubin Zachodni (Lubin West shaft), and Lubin Gło´wny (Lubin Main shaft) at about 610 to 850 meters below ground level. Air samples were collected between 6 and 9 a.m. using the impact method (Air Ideal 3P Sampler) onto Potato Dextrose Agar. The volume of air sampled for each agar plate was 50 liters. We found twenty-seven fungal species, the most numerous being Penicillium notatum, P. urticae, and Aspergillus flavus. As the application of log-linear and correspondence analyses have shown, the population of fungi varied considerably among the copper mine shafts or shaft parts. P. notatum and P. urticae were found to be the best adapted to grow in copper-mine conditions. The significant interaction among the shafts and the sample collection sites suggests a substantial microclimate influence on the population-size variations of studied fungal species in each shaft. The fungal-spore concentration in the majority of the shafts of this copper mine does not present a health risk to the mine workers. But it is enhanced in some portions of the mine, so it may constitute a health hazard locally
