NEW MEXICO – A packet of snacks dropped in a cave in the southwestern US state of New Mexico could have “world changing” ramifications for its denizens.
In a Facebook post on Sept 6, Carlsbad Caverns National Park showed a bag of Cheetos, a cheese-flavoured corn puff snack, on the ground of the largest cave chamber in North America. Known as the Big Room, it has been described as “the Grand Canyon with a roof over it”.
“To the owner of the snack bag, the impact is likely incidental. But to the ecosystem of the cave it had a huge impact,” read the post.
“The processed corn, softened by the humidity of the cave, formed the perfect environment to host microbial life and fungi. Cave crickets, mites, spiders and flies soon organise into a temporary food web, dispersing the nutrients to the surrounding cave and formations. Moulds spread higher up the nearby surfaces, fruit, die and stink. And the cycle continues.”
Park rangers spent 20 minutes clearing up the waste and mould resulting from the packet, which had been dropped away from the visitor trail.
“Some members of this fleeting ecosystem are cave-dwellers, but many of the microbial life and molds are not. At the scale of human perspective, a spilled snack bag may seem trivial, but to the life of the cave it can be world changing,” said the park in its post.
According to the website of US government agency National Park Service (NPS), any consumption of food and drink, except plain, unflavoured water, is prohibited in any cave in Carlsbad Caverns.
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Publish date : 2024-09-16 18:40:00
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