How have ecological communities on Mount St. Helens responded to the eruption, and what processes have been important to their recovery?

A similar question was asked by a group of ecologists who convened a week-long field camp on the twentieth anniversary of the eruption in 2000. Many of the participants had spent their entire careers studying the successional patterns on the disturbed landscapes of the mountain. When they left, they agreed to write a book, and 5 years later Ecological Responses to the 1980 Eruption of Mount St. Helens was published. The book offers unique insights into the successional processes that communities undergo. One important discovery was that the eruption created disturbances that varied in their effects both on the survival of organisms and their subsequent recovery. Because the eruption occurred in spring, many species were dormant under the winter snows and were able to survive the initial eruption. The recovery of some dormant species such as small mammals has been surprisingly quick. A second important discovery was the role that survivors played in controlling the pace and pattern of succession. Unlikely alliances were formed that hastened succession, as you saw with the northern pocket gopher and amphibians. Finally, the researchers realized that multiple mechanisms were responsible for the pattern of succession on Mount St. Helens. Dispersal, abiotic conditions, and species interactions all played a role in the successional process. The variety of ways in which species responded, and the resulting community assemblages, surprised the ecologists lucky enough to have studied the rise of these communities from the ashes.

Future directions

Despite decades of data and discoveries, research on Mount St. Helens has just begun. Will communities there follow paths of succession that are predictable and repeatable? Or will they form alternative states that are highly dependent on their historical legacies? Unfortunately, succession is a long process spanning many lifetimes of scientists. Steps have been taken to continue the “succession” of research on Mount St. Helens. One of the first steps was to secure Mount St. Helens, in 1982, as a National Volcanic Monument dedicated to research, recreation, and education. This designation, along with coordinated research funding, has set the foundation for long-term study sites and data collection and preservation. In addition, the early “pioneer” scientists have cultivated a strong collaborative culture that brings together young scientists who study different levels of biological organization—from molecules to ecosystems. The collaboration is renewed periodically with “science pulse” camps—week-long events attended by dozens of scientists from around the world who gather benchmark data on a diversity of plants, animals, and microbes. Around the campfire at night, the scientists share observations and recruit the next generation of those who will continue the scientific legacy and storytelling into the future.