Some species live in caves only during the summer, some are found hibernating in caves only during the winter and some live in caves all year. Bats often roost in the same spots, and their guano accumulates below them. Guano piles of gray bats are sometimes several feet high and several yards in circumference. Regardless of the size of the pile, the guano provides a nutrient source for bacteria and fungi and the small animals that feed on those decomposers. Many Missouri caves also contain streams and pools.
Salamanders move from the water to the cave floor and cave walls.
Other organisms including salamander juveniles, several species of aquatic isopods, small flatworms called planaria, crayfish, aquatic snails, fish and amphipods are restricted to the water. Because food is so limited in most cave systems, all sources of nutrients are normally taken advantage of by the cave community. In fact, caves that have large bat populations tend to have larger numbers of other animals because the bat guano provides an important nutrient. Caves that often have leaf litter and twigs blowing in through entrances or flushing in through cracks in the cave ceiling also will have higher populations of cave organisms. The occasional log, guano pile or raccoon scat can be a nutrient-magnet for cave organisms, such as beetles, millipedes, terrestrial isopods and cave salamanders.