## 3 Results
In the case of the inner underground sites, Demanovska Slobody was the most enriched in fungi (10), whereas in the other two caves the numbers of isolated species were at the same levels (8 in each cave) (Tables 2 and S2). The Shannon diversity index of fungal species was 0.784 for Brestovska Cave, 0.814 for Demanovska Ladova Cave, and 0.816 for Demanovska Slobody Cave (Table S2). _Arthroderma quadrifatum_, _Chrysosporium europae_, _Ch. merdarium_, _Cordyceps fumosorosea_, _Metapochonia suchlasporia_, _Penicillium_, _P. charlesii_, and _Pseudogymnouscus pamorum_ were cultured from the internal samples of the Brestovska Cave, while _A. insingulare_, _A. multifidum_, _A. quadrifatum_, _Ch. merdarium_, _Ch. siglerae_, _P. brevicompactum_, _P. griseofulvum_, and _P. pamorum_ were isolated from the interior of the Demanovska Ladova Cave. On the other hand, soil/sediment samples taken from the inside of Demanovska Slobody Cave contained keratinophilic and keratin \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c} \hline \hline  & **Fungi** & **Study Sites 1** \\ \hline
**Family** & **Species** & \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{Arthrodermataceae} & _Arthroderna ebreum_ & V 2 S 3, VIII S \\  & _Arthroderma insingulare_ & IV L, VII L, VIII L \\  & _Arthroderma multifidum_ & VII L, II S, III S, IV S \\  & _Arthroderma quadrifidum_ & I B, III B, VII B, III L, IV L, V L, VII L, I S, II S, III S, VII S, VIII S \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{Aspergillus fumigatus} & I L \\ \cline{2-3}  & _Penicillium brevicompactum_ & VII B, IV L, VI S \\ \cline{2-3}  & _Penicillium charlesii_ & V B \\ \cline{2-3}  & _Penicillium chrysogenum_ & VII S \\ \cline{2-3}  & _Penicillium grisefulvum_ & II L \\ \hline \multirow{2}{*}{Clavicipitaceae} & _Metapochonia suchlasporia_ & II B, III B, I L \\ \cline{2-3}  & Cordyceps fumosorosea_ & III B, VIII B \\ \hline \multirow{2}{*}{Nectriaceae} & _Cosmospora viridescens_ & VII S \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{Onygenaceae} & _Aphanoascus keratinophilus_ & VI S \\  & _Chrysosporium europae_ & V B \\ \cline{2-3}  & _Chrysosporium metdarium_ & IV B, VI B, III L, V S \\ \cline{1-1}  & _Cirysosporium sizlerae_ & II L, VII L \\ \cline{1-1}  & _Keratinophytron vagneri_ & VII S \\ \hline \multicolumn{2}{c}{Pseudeurotiaceae} & _Pseudogymnouscus pamorum_ & V B, VII B, III L, IV L, V L, VIII L, III S, V S, VI S \\ \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 2: Keratinophilic and keratinocyte fungal species isolated from soil/sediment samples in the studied Slovak caves. 1 See Figure 1 for locations (—outside underground facilities, II–VIII—nolytic species such as: _Aphanoascus keratinophilus_, _A. eboreum_, _A. multifidum_, _A. quadrridum_, _Ch. merdarium_, _Cosmospora viridescens_, _Keratinophyton wagneri_, _P. brevicompactum_, _P. chrysogenum_, and _P. pannorum_ (Figure 3). The most frequently isolated species from the soil/sediment inside the Demanovska Slobody Cave was _A. quadrridum_, and _A. quadrridum_ and _P. pannorum_ in the case of the Demanovska Ladova Cave, which accounted for 22.2% and 23.5% of all fungi cultured from the samples inside these caves, respectively. In turn, the most often isolated species (15% in  
Figure 2: The percentage contribution of each isolate from the soil/sediment samples to the total from all caves. each case) from the interior of the Brestovska Cave were: _A. quadrifidum_, _Ch. merdarium_, _C. fumosorosea_, _M. suchlasporia_, and _P. pannorum_ (Figure 3). Overall, the temperature of soil/sediments correlated negatively with the number of isolated keratinophilic and keratinocyte fungal species in all tested caves (\(p<0.05\); \(r=-0.30\)) (Figure 4A). The same negative trend was recorded in the case of individual caves: namely, the number of fungal species did not increase with increasing temperature (\(p<0.05\); \(r=-0.31\) for the Brestovska Cave, \(r=-0.21\) for the Demanovska Ladova Cave, and \(r=-0.54\) for the Demanovska Slobody Cave) (Figure 4B-D). Figure 3: The percentage contribution of each isolate from the soil/sediment samples to the total from particular caves for the interior study sites.