ABSTRACT
In subterranean ecosystems, the main environmental factors influencing physiological adaptations in cave organisms are darkness, lack of food, and also hypoxic conditions. These factors have a high selective value in regard to adaptive features such as a drastic reduction in eye size and a reduced metabolic rate compared with that of surfacedwelling relatives. To study the physiological adaptations of cave organisms to the subterranean environment, it is necessary to compare troglobites with troglophilous and epigean species. Studies have been carried out on aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates and vertebrates by investigating oxygen consumption and metabolic responses.
