Figure 19.1 Direct observations of succession. (a) The island of Krakatau in Indonesia experienced a massive volcano in 1883 that blew away much of the original island and obliterated all life. (b) Since then researchers have documented the colonization of new species on the island over time. Initially, most plants colonizing the island were sea- and wind-dispersed. As the forests developed, birds and bats that came to the island carried the seeds of many other species of plants.

Data from R. J. Whittaker et al., Plant recolonization and vegetation succession on the Krakatau Islands, Indonesia, Ecological Monographs 59 (1989): 59–123.