Beneath Yucatán cenotes, cave shrimps anchor a hidden underground food web
Researchers studying Mexico’s cenotes found Typhlatya cave shrimps occupy distinct dietary niches and sustain a linked underground food web by funneling surface-derived organic matter into the ecosystem; these shrimps act as a keystone species in the anchialine environment, a delicate balance threatened by urbanization and deforestation that disrupts surface inputs and the caves’ vertical connectivity.