We have been excited to share an incredibly rare sight with our guests over the last several days! - We have been spotting a female Bristly Cave Crayfish with eggs on our tours. The first time that this was ever photographed was two years ago. This photo was taken yesterday, July 12, 2011, on one of our tours by Delorse Eubanks.

Studies at Smallin Civil War Cave through June 2011

Dr. David Ashley, Professor of Biology, University of Missouri Western, St. Joseph

Twice a year, Dr. Ashley visits the cave with his Cave Biology class and surveys the cave life. Although all life is noted, the Bristly Cave Crayfish (Cambarus setosus) is what has brought scientists like Dr. Ashley to Smallin since 1898.

The Bristly is one of three species of cave-adapted crayfish in Missouri, and has only been documented in fifty caves between Missouri and Arkansas. Sightless and colorless, the Bristly has adapted to a life of feeling its way in the dark. Its claws, legs, and antennae are longer and thinner than those of a surface crayfish.

In his studies, Dr. Ashley records length, mass, and gender of the crayfish, as well as its location in the cave and the environment where it was found. As of May of 2010, whenever a crayfish is caught, it is numbered very carefully with a black marker so that the tour guides can keep track of the numbered crayfish seen on tour. From this, we have already recorded one particular individual, #23, losing a claw and regenerating it in just three month’s time.
In the summer of 2010, a presentation of the Bristly Cave Crayfish of Smallin Civil War Cave was given at an international convention of biologists. Dr. Ashley suggested that we inform visitors to the cave that some of his colleagues who have studied our crayfish have not actually been able to see one.

Last May, data loggers were installed along the 1400’ survey area of the cave which record the air/water temperatures each hour. This information will be paired with the biology surveys.
This month, a weather station will be placed over the mouth of the cave.

Dr. Aaron W. Johnson, Assistant Professor of Geology, Northwestern Missouri State University, Maryville

Dr. Johnson and Travis Doughty, one of Dr. Johnson’s students, have taken samples of sediments in both caves. This summer, the samples will be examined for different metals. The data collected from their studies will be presented at the national meeting ofthe Geological Society of America in Minneapolis, Minnesota later this October.

The data collected from this study will give us a broader picture of the relationship between the Smallin Cave ecosystem and the impacts from human activities in its watershed. Because some of our animals live in the sediment in early stages of their development, this study will give us a baseline set of data to use in order to monitor for any future change in cave sediment chemistry.

Dr. Thomas E. Tomasi, Associate Dean of the Graduate College and Professor of Biology, Missouri State University, Springfield

Smallin Civil War Cave was the first cave in Missouri to be checked for evidence of White Nose Syndrome by Dr. Tomasi. While none of its bats are infected, four Eastern Pipistrels (Tri-Color) bats were caught in the cave last winter and researched in a Torpor study. Each one of the four was placed in a different degree refrigerator (45, 50, 55, and 60 degrees Fahrenheit), each one had an EKG attached to its back to measure its heart rate, and each one had a video camera filming its activity throughout the winter months. 

The four bats were released back in front of the cave in March, and visitors were able to spot our “Tomasi bats” for two months before their hair grew back in their bald spots where the EKG was attached.

Dr. Douglas R. Gouzie, Associate Professor of Geology, Missouri State University, Springfield

Dr. Gouzie has met with the owners of Smallin Civil War Cave and was present on the day of Dr. Johnson’s sediment research. His interest in the cave is its watershed. He is laying the groundwork for a dye tracing survey which will piece together sinkholes, losing streams, other cave systems to the Smallin Civil War Cave system.