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Cavemud wrote:This came up in another forum off topic so I thought I would post this here and see what y'all think. Do you think wearing a suit, gloves, boots that's dirty from caving into another cave will harm it? I do this often and haven't started a new species that I know of. I'm sure there are people out there that think this is wrong. You can't please everyone! I don't plan on washing my suit after every trip, that's for sure.
fuzzy-hair-man wrote:Would you really get to know if it was an issue? by that time it would be too late anyway.
To my knowledge some cave biota will not travel or spread between caves even if they are relatively close together so it is like a closed eco system for these species transferring in any species from another cave is likely to have bad effects I'm guessing. Sort of like introduced species destroy the balance and may wipe out indigenous species above ground.
If this happened would we really know? would we attribute it to a change in climate, water levels, soil toxins, and a whole raft of other possible explanations this is if we noticed a change in the first place it's possible we wouldn't even notice the change it may be microscopic species or it may be slow enough we don't notice.
I guess it's best that we do what we can to prevent damaging the caves we visit and this includes trying not to spread species between caves.
It may be likely that if the mud is dry then any organisms in it have died, I think this is the approach customs and quarantine use to stop bugs from overseas.
Cavemud wrote:What about when you cough? Sneeze? Dead skin cells? Hair? I guess none of these biologicals do any harm? I'd bet alot more than a dirty cave suit!
Cavemud wrote:If I washed my suit after every trip...it wouldn't last very long. I do wash it when I think it needs it(smell,too much dried mud)but as much as I cave, it would fall apart more quickly than I'd like. What about when you cough? Sneeze? Dead skin cells? Hair? I guess none of these biologicals do any harm? I'd bet alot more than a dirty cave suit!
Cavemud wrote:Once again we've steered You may be right about contamination. I don't know and I certainly won't lose sleep thinking about it. When you push the nasty holes like we do...suits don't hold up too long. Nor gloves or boots for that matter!
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