Abstract
It is clear that ecosystems are devastated after a volcanic eruption coats the landscape with a layer of ash; however, the ecological recovery of mammalian communities after eruptions is poorly understood. Volcanic eruptions vary with magnitude and type and only a fraction of them have been analysed for effects on mammalian communities. To better understand mammalian community recovery, I investigated how species richness, evenness, and similarity change across volcanic boundaries in the 1980 Mount Saint Helens (MSH), Washington, and 1914–1917 Mount Lassen, California, eruptions. I compared these eruptions to Mount Rainier, Washington and Mount Shasta, California as controls for regional changes in the fauna. Richness and evenness remain relatively unchanged in Lassen. MSH saw an immediate drop in richness, followed by an increase over 5 years to pre-eruptive levels. Chord distance analysis suggests no long-term change in the Lassen fauna. The pre- and post-MSH fauna are different from one another. The post-eruptive fauna was more similar to neighbouring regions. It is clear from my results that larger eruptions tend to have a greater impact on mammalian community recovery than smaller eruptions, but ultimately, mammalian populations are robust and the presence of neighbouring communities is important for recolonizing devastated areas.
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Acknowledgements
This research was completed as part of my dissertation at the University of Oregon, and I would like to thank my committee (E. B. Davis, S. S. B Hopkins, J. M. Watkins, S. R. Frost and J. X. Samuels) for their feedback on this manuscript. I would also like to thank J. Bradley (UWBM), C. Conroy (MVZ), C. Fidler (MVZ), H. Garner (TTU), M. Eifler (KU), P. Collins (SBMNH), C. Thompson (UMMZ), J. Esselstyn (LSU), S. Cardiff (LSU), M. Hafner (LSU), C. Dardia (CMVZ), L. Abraczinskas (MSU), B. Coyner (OMNH), G. Shugart (PSM), K. Molina (UCLA), A. Gunderson (UAM), B. Patterson (FMNH), M. Flannery (CAS), Y. Bustos (CAS), and J. Dines (LACM) for assistance and access to collections and records. I also thank C. Cerovski-Darriau, H. R. Dietterich, A. N. Seligman, K. Sweeney, J. D. Orcutt, and W. N. F. McLaughlin for helpful discussions related to this project. The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology Mary R. Dawson Pre-doctoral Fellowship Grant and the University of Oregon Department of Earth Sciences supported this research. I specially thank F. Zachos, two anonymous reviewers, and P. D. Polly for constructive reviews that greatly improved this manuscript.
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Famoso, N.A. Mammalian community response to historic volcanic eruptions. Mamm Biol 100, 219–230 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42991-020-00022-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42991-020-00022-0