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Biological colonization of new lava

Where volcanic eruptions repave part of the seafloor and rejuvenate hydrothermal venting, the process of biological colonization can be studied starting from a "clean slate". Colonization of new vent sites progresses very rapidly, because vent species are adapted to rapidly changing and ephemeral habitat. On the 1998 lava flow at Axial Volcano, the vent-specific species that colonized most quickly included tubeworms, scaleworms, palmworms, limpets, and snails. Vent sites were already beginning to be colonized on the 1998 lava flow only 7 months after the eruption. However, most new vents had few individuals, and adjacent vents usually had completely different species (the first arrivals). Over time the vents have exploded in the numbers of individuals and species present, and the difference between vents has diminished. For example, in 1998 only about half of the species known from Axial had reached the new vents. But, by the summer of 1999 (12 months later) almost the whole Axial species pool had successfully colonized, and by the summer of 2000 abundances at the new vents rivalled those at most longer-lived vent communities (1000's of individuals per vent).

All the new vents on the 1998 lava flow are diffuse vents. On lobate surfaces of the 1998 lava flow, vent fluid emanates from the conical depressions between lava lobes (such as at Circ vent, near Castle). These sites are probably underlain by lava pillars, which act a fluid conduits from the bottom to the top of the lava flow. On sheet flow surfaces with collapsed areas, diffuse vents such as at Marker 33 occur along cracks in lava crust. Here, the vent is more elongate and colonization is distributed along the crack.
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Related video clips:
Marker 33 over time | Circ Vent near Castle

Related Virtual Sites:
Marker 33 | Castle

Other NeMO-related concepts:
Mid-ocean ridges | seafloor spreading | seamounts & hot spots | calderas | Axial volcano
Hydrothermal vents | fluid paths | focused vents | diffuse vents | sulfide | anhydrite
Animal Gallery | chemosynthesis | biological colonization of new lava

Lava morphology | sheets | pillows | lava contacts | skylights | pillars | the 1998 flow
NeMO at Axial | the 1998 eruption | the rumbleometer story | lava flow animation

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