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Copyright of Biotropica is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Cenotes are naturally occurring freshwater sinkholes that are formed when limestone bedrock erodes, exposing subterranean water. They are visually striking: cavernous, circular holes in the ground that drop down to the shimmer of bright blue water. Building on the genealogy of feminist figures, this article argues that cenotes are rich feminist figurations that can assist us in thinking through the complexities of ecological crises in the Anthropocene. I utilise scuba diving in cenotes as a method of bodily enquiry, drawing on fieldwork conducted at eight cenotes in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico to demonstrate how thinking with the rich material-discursive composition of cenotes can question and undermine normative approaches to the Anthropocene. Cenotes are spaces of rupture and affective possibility, transitional zones that privilege fluidity over categorisation. By analysing cenotes and their unique hydro-geological formations as a distinctly feminist figuration, I argue that the binary onto-epistemologies implicit in the Anthropocene can be challenged and re-thought through the radical liminality of the cenote. I propose that thinking-with cenotes engenders an understanding of what I call a hydro-geologic corporeality and subjectivity that emphasises the liminal boundaries between the body (bios), the water (hydro), and the geologic (geos). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a comprehensive overview of the speleological exploration conducted by the Czech and Slovak Speleological Societies in the Quintana Roo region of Mexico over a period of twenty years. Starting with the inaugural expedition in 2003, more than 20 subsequent expeditions have been carried out. The focus of the exploration has been on the region between the villages of Chemuyil and Akumal, where hundreds of cenotes have been investigated, leading to the discovery of significant cave systems with a cumulative length of over 138 km. Among these, the Koox Baal underwater cave system stands out as the third longest in the world. Additionally, the explorers have revisited and resurveyed several previously discovered underwater caves due to the lack of existing maps from the initial explorations. Notably, the exploration efforts have resulted in significant paleontological discoveries, and strong connections have been forged with local landowners and the speleological community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Biotropica is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)