Primary succession structures amphibian population dynamics
Amphibians play a crucial role in primary succession, as they efficiently transfer energy across trophic levels to bridge the gap between invertebrates and reptile and mammalian predators. While the assembly of amphibian communities in nascent landscapes has been shown to be disturbance-mediated, we know little about how successional processes affect the demographics of its constituent members. Relying on detailed investigations of the natural history of lentic amphibian species colonizing the Mount St. Helens debris avalanche following the 1980 eruption, we are using long-term monitoring data in conjunction with remote sensing imagery to better understand how the geological impacts of the eruption, and subsequent ecological recovery, alter amphibian species interactions, population dynamics, and community-level biodiversity.