Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
FIG
163.
Cathole Cave, showing typical flora at the cave entrance. (Harold Grenfell)
Studies of the microbiology of the Gower caves have been more extensive. Ogof Wyntog, a cave loc-
ated north of the Knave, contains extensive deposits of a substance known as moonmilk. Moonmilk is a
cheese-like mass, consisting of carbonate minerals and a microorganism, which is found sprouting from
the cave ceiling or walls, usually near to an entrance. A large range of organisms has been isolated from
this peculiar substance, including the bacterium
Macromonas
spp. (probably
M. bipunctata
), and vari-
ous blue-green algae such as
Synechococcus elongatus
also occur. It is thought that in the darkness they
feed by metabolic pathways quite different to the ones they use in the light. Curious encrusting growths
known as 'wall-fungus' also occur frequently in the caves and investigation has shown that they consist
