Entombed in a cave for ~ 5MY .... and supposedly without external input (sealed for the duration)! This rocks!
A quote from the second link, "Four species of invertebrates were found in the lake inside the cave; the other four species inhabit the cave’s terrain. The lake is a habitat for bacteria that synthesize the sulfur in the water as a source for energy, thus creating the nutritional infrastructure for the cave’s aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.." I would never have thought that a 'lake ecosystem' could sustain the terrestrial ecosystem. This would be fascinating if it could (I wonder what density of animals we have in that lake!).
The second link has another interesting piece of information. "So far we have identified eight species of invertebrates, most of which were not known before." The significance here (in the event this is a closed ~ 5MY-old ecosystem) is that those species that are 'not new to science' must occur elsewhere .... and that means within the 'sealed ecosystem' they have remained unchanged in 'morphology' (inferred genetic), which is an amazing example of stasis. It also means some species have changed during this time, showing that change occurs at different rates in different groups.
The final link has a heart-warming concluding statement! "Yoel Feldschue, director-general of Nesher Industries, said today that Nesher will preserve the ecological ecosystem which has been revealed in the center of its quarry in order to avoid any damage to the important findings there. He added in that regard that he is hopeful that the planning authorities will enable the company to operate in alternate areas in order to help preserve the scientific site." If only we had a few more fisherfolk with this mentality!
