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 adapated 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 practicies 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.
14 January 2012:
SEI Annual Report available
The Subterranean Ecology Institute is produced its' first Annual Report, which is available for download.
11 December 2011:
2011 Expedition Final Report available
The final report Subterranean Ecology Institute's 2011 expedition to southern Belize is now available for download.
19 July 2011:
2011 Belize Expedition findings presented
The Subterranean Ecology Institute is presented findings froum our 2011 field work in Belize at the annual meeting of the National Speleological Society. The presentation was titled "The cave fauna of Toledo District of Belize: a preliminary assessment."
07 May 2011:
SEI Slide Show from Belize Expedition Available
The Subterranean Ecology Institute is proud to announce the availability of a slide show covering our recent expedition to southern Belize. Click on our Projects page, and scroll to the bottom - within the slide show you can click in the lower right to make it display full screen.
07 Feb 2011:
SEI receives grant from the National Speleological
Society Foundation
The Subterranean Ecology Institute is most pleased to announce that we are receiving a grant from the National Speleological Foundation in support of our 2011 fieldwork in Belize (see our projects page). This grant will help us document subterranean ecosystems of Belize and to work with Belizian government agencies in support of management of their cave resources and to provide information for outreach and education to local guides and others. We will be reporting back to the funding agency via a presentation at the National Speleological Society Convention and/or article in the US national caving magazine, The NSS News.