From basalt to biosphere: Early non-vent community succession on the erupting Vailulu’u deep seamount
Volcanic eruptions provide rare opportunities to witness the biological recolonization of areas covered by new lava flows by effectively resetting the ecological succession clock to zero. The role of submarine volcanic eruptions as disturbance events and the resulting patterns of ecological successi...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Marine Science |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2023.1110062/full |
| _version_ | 1797948106008952832 |
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| author | Santiago Herrera William W. Chadwick Matthew G. Jackson Jasper Konter Luke McCartin Nicole Pittoors Emily Bushta Susan G. Merle |
| author_facet | Santiago Herrera William W. Chadwick Matthew G. Jackson Jasper Konter Luke McCartin Nicole Pittoors Emily Bushta Susan G. Merle |
| author_sort | Santiago Herrera |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Volcanic eruptions provide rare opportunities to witness the biological recolonization of areas covered by new lava flows by effectively resetting the ecological succession clock to zero. The role of submarine volcanic eruptions as disturbance events and the resulting patterns of ecological succession have mainly been studied in hydrothermal vent ecosystems. However, the effects of submarine volcanic eruptions as disturbance forces have rarely been studied in non-vent ecosystems, particularly on seamounts. Here, we document the early stages of ecological succession of non-vent benthic communities inhabiting the summit caldera of the active Vailulu’u submarine volcano in American Samoa. Sitting above the Samoan volcanic hotspot, Vailulu’u is the youngest volcano of the Samoan chain. Repeated mapping of Vailulu’u in 1999, 2005, 2006, 2012, and 2017 revealed the progressive growth of a new cone named Nafanua. In 18 years, the cone grew >300 meters in height from a starting depth of ~1000 meters below sea level (mbsl). The differential analyses of this time-series bathymetry dataset enabled the assignment of maximum age ranges to different portions of the new cone. High-definition ROV imagery collected in 2017 revealed patterns of community structuring consistent with ecological succession: newly erupted seafloor contained a subset of the benthic species found on older seafloor. Furthermore, individual animal sizes in the younger seafloor zones were smaller than in the older zones. This unusual interdisciplinary combination of geological and biological observations provides constraints on which deep-sea animals recolonize new seafloor after a major disturbance event and how quickly. This knowledge could be applied to identify signs and states of recovery from anthropogenic disturbances by a deep seamount ecosystem. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T21:38:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-85505dc1e8ed4d66a1faa40c4a1d8cbb |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-7745 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T21:38:12Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Marine Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-85505dc1e8ed4d66a1faa40c4a1d8cbb2023-01-19T09:19:08ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Marine Science2296-77452023-01-011010.3389/fmars.2023.11100621110062From basalt to biosphere: Early non-vent community succession on the erupting Vailulu’u deep seamountSantiago Herrera0William W. Chadwick1Matthew G. Jackson2Jasper Konter3Luke McCartin4Nicole Pittoors5Emily Bushta6Susan G. Merle7Department of Biological Sciences, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA, United StatesCooperative Institute for Marine Ecosystem and Resources Studies, Oregon State University, Newport, OR, United StatesDepartment of Earth Science, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, United StatesDepartment of Earth Sciences, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI, United StatesDepartment of Biological Sciences, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA, United StatesDepartment of Biological Sciences, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA, United StatesDepartment of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA, United StatesCooperative Institute for Marine Ecosystem and Resources Studies, Oregon State University, Newport, OR, United StatesVolcanic eruptions provide rare opportunities to witness the biological recolonization of areas covered by new lava flows by effectively resetting the ecological succession clock to zero. The role of submarine volcanic eruptions as disturbance events and the resulting patterns of ecological succession have mainly been studied in hydrothermal vent ecosystems. However, the effects of submarine volcanic eruptions as disturbance forces have rarely been studied in non-vent ecosystems, particularly on seamounts. Here, we document the early stages of ecological succession of non-vent benthic communities inhabiting the summit caldera of the active Vailulu’u submarine volcano in American Samoa. Sitting above the Samoan volcanic hotspot, Vailulu’u is the youngest volcano of the Samoan chain. Repeated mapping of Vailulu’u in 1999, 2005, 2006, 2012, and 2017 revealed the progressive growth of a new cone named Nafanua. In 18 years, the cone grew >300 meters in height from a starting depth of ~1000 meters below sea level (mbsl). The differential analyses of this time-series bathymetry dataset enabled the assignment of maximum age ranges to different portions of the new cone. High-definition ROV imagery collected in 2017 revealed patterns of community structuring consistent with ecological succession: newly erupted seafloor contained a subset of the benthic species found on older seafloor. Furthermore, individual animal sizes in the younger seafloor zones were smaller than in the older zones. This unusual interdisciplinary combination of geological and biological observations provides constraints on which deep-sea animals recolonize new seafloor after a major disturbance event and how quickly. This knowledge could be applied to identify signs and states of recovery from anthropogenic disturbances by a deep seamount ecosystem.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2023.1110062/fullcolonizationecological successionseamountsubmarine eruptiondeep-sea |
| spellingShingle | Santiago Herrera William W. Chadwick Matthew G. Jackson Jasper Konter Luke McCartin Nicole Pittoors Emily Bushta Susan G. Merle From basalt to biosphere: Early non-vent community succession on the erupting Vailulu’u deep seamount Frontiers in Marine Science colonization ecological succession seamount submarine eruption deep-sea |
| title | From basalt to biosphere: Early non-vent community succession on the erupting Vailulu’u deep seamount |
| title_full | From basalt to biosphere: Early non-vent community succession on the erupting Vailulu’u deep seamount |
| title_fullStr | From basalt to biosphere: Early non-vent community succession on the erupting Vailulu’u deep seamount |
| title_full_unstemmed | From basalt to biosphere: Early non-vent community succession on the erupting Vailulu’u deep seamount |
| title_short | From basalt to biosphere: Early non-vent community succession on the erupting Vailulu’u deep seamount |
| title_sort | from basalt to biosphere early non vent community succession on the erupting vailulu u deep seamount |
| topic | colonization ecological succession seamount submarine eruption deep-sea |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2023.1110062/full |
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