The NSS Bulletin - ISSN 1090-6924
Volume 43 Number 3: 59-68 - July 1981
A publication of the National Speleological Society

The Subterranean Fauna and Conservation of Mona Island (Puerto Rico): A Caribbean Karst Environment
Stewart B. Peck and Jarmila Kukalova-Peck

Abstract

An investigation of the invertebrate cave and ground water faunas of Mono Island has yielded 46 species, including 35 taxa new to the Island's known fauna. Five are new endemics for Mona (already known to harbor five endemic plants, nine endemic vertebrates, and 24 endemic invertebrates in non-marine habitats). In the subterranean fauna, three species are troglobites, 18 are troglophiles, and 16 are guanophilous mites. A general summary is given of the history, flora, fauna, and geology of Mona, the island least altered by human activity of any in the Caribbean. Proposals for development and problems of conservation of this completely karst environment are briefly discussed.

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