1: When did Mt. St. Helens erupt last? It last erupted on July 10, 2008. 2: Where is Mt. St.

. Helens located? Mt. St. Helens is located in Washington, United States. 3: How much magma is released during the eruption? Millions of tons of magma was released during the eruption. 4: What is a pyroclastic flow? A pyroclastic flow is a cloud of searing gas and rock. 5: How far from the summit is Spirit Lake located? The summit was four miles away from Spirit Lake. 6: How many people were killed by the eruption? Fifty seven people were killed by the eruption 7: How far away was the furthest victim? The furthest victim was thirteen miles away. 8: How many birds disappeared during this disaster? How many insects? Thousands of birds and billions of insects disappeared during this disaster. 9: What happens to Spirit Lake? Explain. Spirit Lake became murky after the explosion due to the dead trees and organism that filled it. The lake was sullied and very black. 10: Explain what the landscape in this region looks like after the eruption. (End of Part I) The region looks like the moon because it was all covered in ash and dust. Mt. St. Helen also had a 2000 feet crater after the eruption. 11: What is the Pacific Ring of Fire? The Pacific Ring of Fire is a large arc of volcanos that runs for thousands of miles. 12: Explain what has caused the volcano at Mt. St. Helens. The plate tectonics collided, which caused the volcano at Mt. St. Helens.

13: What did the ecologist find when he first came to the mountain after the eruption? The ecologist found ash and dust when he first came to the mountain and not life forms after the eruption. 14: What were the first signs of life at the mountain? What did they see happening? The first signs of life at the mountain are gophers. They saw the gopher digging up the dirt underneath the ash. 15: Why were ecologists so surprised to see a flowering plant a year after the eruption? (End of Part II) Ecologists were so surprised to see a flowering plant a year after the eruption because a year seem too quick for an environment that got that damaged to recover. 16: How has the plant managed to grow in such a barren area? Explain. The plant managed to grow in such a barren area by their roots. Since they have bacterium on their roots, the bacterium works with the plant to convert their own food, such as sugar from nitrogen. 17: What is a pioneering species? How do they help out in a nutrient poor environment? Explain. Pioneering species are species that establish a more suitable environment for other organisms to sustain life from an environment that is not suitable enough. When pioneering species die, they release nutrients into the soil, which helps in a nutrient poor environment. 18: What is causing earthquakes on Mt. St. Helens? Lava breaks through the rocks causing earthquakes on Mt. St. Helens. 19: Explain how the pioneering species are helping to revive the landscape. Pioneering species are helping to revive the landscape by adding more nutrients into the soil when they die. 20: What were scientists finding in Spirit Lake? Why was the dissolved oxygen levels so low? What was this causing? The scientists found bacteria in Spirit Lake. The dissolved oxygen levels were so low because the bacteria consumed it, which causes life to be impossible underwater.

21: Explain how life in the lake is able to come back. What species is first (pioneering species)? How were they brought to the lake? (End of Part III) Phytoplankton, a pioneering species was brought to the lake by birds or blown by the wind, which caused life in the lake to come back. 22: How are the salamanders able to survive in the harsh environment? Salamanders were able to survive in the harsh environment by traveling through underground tunnels made by gophers. 23: How was the rate of recovery on the mountain? Was it was scientists expected? (End of Part IV) The rate of recovery on the mountain was faster than peoples prediction. It was different from what the scientists expected. 24: Where does all of the explosive force in volcanoes come from? Where does the gas come from? (End of Part V) The explosive force in volcanoes comes from magma which gets pressurized by a gas. The gas comes from water. Discuss the miraculous return of nature to Mt. St. Helens years after the eruption. In your discussion, use the following terms in your answer: succession, pioneer species, symbiosis (mutualism), and nutrient cycling After the eruption on Mt. St. Helens in 1980, all life forms around that location was deceased including fifty-seven humans that was within a 13 miles range. Spirit Lake became sullied and became an unsuitable habitat for living organisms. This event is an example of secondary succession because a volcanic eruption disrupted that environment, but it had soil there in the beginning. The environment began to recover with the help of pioneering species. Pioneering species do not requires any soil for sustainability and can take in nitrogen and convert it into food for their survival by having a symbiosis relation with a type of bacteria that is located in the roots of these plants. They were the first species that arrived in a disturbed environment. When pioneering species die and decomposes, nutrients get added into the soil, and this is one in a process called the nutrient cycling. Longer-lived plants would begin to grow on the soil that contains nutrients. After that, insects and small animals would come and inhabit the environment. Soon after larger animals and various plants would arrive and now it is a climax community.