Causes and Consequences of Herbivory on Prairie Lupine (Lupinus lepidus) in Early Primary Succession

Abstract

This 348-page book focuses on the ecological responses to the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980, an event that had a momentous impact on fungal, plant, animal and human life from the mountain to the far reaches of the explosions ash cloud and mudflows. This intense event caused a substantial loss of life and property, but also offered an opportunity to study the effects of and subsequent responses to a huge disturbance of natural systems. This book integrates research from geology and plant and animal ecology in an unprecedented look at the complex interactions of biological and physical systems in the response of the volcanic landscape. The book is structured into 5 parts and 20 individually-authored chapters. Part I of the book provides an introduction and contains 3 chapters that individually discuss: disturbance, survival and succession following the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens; geological and ecological settings of Mount St. Helens before 18 May 1980; physical events, environments and geological-ecological interactions at Mount St. Helens from March 1980-2004. Survival and establishment of plant communities is the focus of part II, which contains chapters 4-8. Specific topics discussed in these 5 chapters include: plant responses in forests of the Tephra-Fall zone; plant succession on the Mount St. Helens debris-avalanche deposit; geomorphic change and vegetation development on the Muddy river mudflow deposit; proximity, microsites and biotic interactions during early succession; and remote sensing of vegetation responses during the first 20 years following the 1980 eruption. The third part of the book focuses on survival and establishment of animal communities and there are 6 chapters in this section. These 6 chapters individually discuss arthropods as pioneers in the regeneration of life on the pyroclastic-flow deposits of Mount St. Helens, posteruption arthropod succession on the Mount St. Helens volcano with respect to the ground-dwelling beetle fauna, causes and consequences of herbivory on Lupinus lepidus (prairie lupine) in early primary succession, responses of fish to the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, and small mammal survival and colonization on the Mount St. Helens volcano between 1980 and 2002. The responses of ecosystem processes is the theme of part IV and there are 4 chapters in this section. These chapters, chapter 15-18, discuss, respectively, the symbiotic story of Mycorrhizae and Mount St. Helens, patterns of decomposition and nutrient cycling across a volcanic disturbance gradient, lupine effects on soil development and function during early primary succession at Mount St. Helens, and response and recovery of lakes. The fifth and final part of the book, which contains 2 chapters, discusses lessons learned. The penultimate chapter discusses ecological perspectives on management of the Mount St. Helens landscape, and the final chapter overviews ecological responses to the eruption of Mount St. Helens: 1980-2005. All of the references are provided in a bibliography after the final chapter. The book also contains a glossary and 115 illustrations. The book also highlights a list of contributors and their respective institutions. This comprehensive account will be of value to those interested in natural history, ecology, disturbance, conservation biology, limnology, geoscience, and land management.