20.500.12556/RUL-189399 Quantifying trade-offs between sampling effort and biodiversity detection to optimize cave monitoring design Reliable biodiversity indicators require sampling designs that balance detection performance and feasibility. Subterranean ecosystems are particularly challenging due to inaccessibility and spatial complexity, and quantitative guidance on sampling strategy is limited. We quantified trade-offs between sampling effort and biodiversity detection to optimize cave monitoring design. Using three caves that provide access to the same geologically connected subterranean system in central Slovenia, we established a reference inventory of obligate subterranean species (troglobionts) through year-round spatially and temporally replicated sampling. We then evaluated 2511 alternative sub-sampling schemes derived from the full design to assess how reduced effort affects detection performance. A total of 118 taxa were recorded, including 21 troglobionts. Rarefaction analyses indicate that the regional troglobiont pool was fully captured by the complete sampling design. Sub-sampling analyses show that only a limited number of scheme combinations reliably detected ≥90% of reference troglobiont species. However, high detection performance can be maintained with substantially reduced effort when spatial replication, seasonal coverage, and complementary sampling methods are retained. By explicitly linking sampling effort to detection proportion relative to a reference baseline, this study provides a quantitative framework for evaluating and optimizing biodiversity monitoring designs. The approach is applicable to other spatially fragmented or difficult-to-survey ecosystems where efficient indicator performance is required under logistical constraints. biological monitoring caves Natura 2000 sampling troglobionts biološki monitoring jame Natura 2000 vzorčenje troglobionti true false true Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik Članek v reviji 2026-10-05 13:24:19 2026-10-05 13:24:25 2026-10-06 04:26:22 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2026 0 0 9 str. article no. ǂ115562 Vol. 191 Oct. 2026 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno apc 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 591.5 1872-7034 10.1016/j.ecolind.2026.115562 293379587 RAZ_Fiser_Cene_2026.pdf RAZ_Fiser_Cene_2026.pdf 1 89E5DC081F1297A0F3B0F714BF6C95DB ade76bef5f5fc21785c1aad7d794178ea0150ea5393aaaf4b93f7a4f6efd8310 4accd8a0-c0af-11f1-8bc5-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=249897 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X26009647 0 332909ae-c0af-11f1-8bc5-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=249895 Biotehniška fakulteta 0 0 0