The visitor who left a bag of cheese puffs in a cave in Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico may have gone hungry for a while. However, the consequences for the microorganisms and insects living in the underground environment were much greater, according to park officials.
In the humid cave, it didn't take long for the snack to start molding. It attracted ants, mites, spiders, and flies that spread the problem further, writes the national park in a Facebook post.
"Enormous impact"
Many of the microorganisms and mold fungi that emerged do not naturally live in the cave. "It had an enormous impact on the cave's ecosystem," writes the park, which also notes: "From a human perspective, a dropped snack bag may seem trivial, but for life in the cave, it can be world-changing."
Andy Baker, professor of environmental science at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, agrees.
"One way to look at this is that caves are quite extreme places to survive. There is no light. Water can be limited. Nutrients are scarce," he writes in an email to The Washington Post.
"The animals that live in caves have adapted to that environment. Add food of some kind and it can disrupt the balance of the cave's ecosystem."
Cleaned thoroughly
When the bag was discovered last summer, cave specialists were called in to clean up. They scooped up most of the moldy snack and then used toothbrushes to remove mold and fungi that had spread to nearby cave formations.
Several tons of trash are collected in the US national parks every year. It's an ongoing battle to protect unique ecosystems while allowing visitors to get close.
