Each lava flow represents a severe but localized disturbance event that created fresh substrata and restarted the ecological clock on community succession of the deep-water coral communities. This project will compare communities on successively older lava flows to each other and to "undisturbed" control communities adjacent to each flow (usually of much older age), to reconstruct patterns and timelines of community succession.

Given the heightened awareness of potential anthropogenic impacts (e.g., trawl fishing, precious coral harvesting, eutrophication/sedimentation, climate change, etc.) on deep-water coral communities, the need to understand recovery processes and community succession are of increasing importance and relevance for resource managers.

This project will conduct a single dive per year, piggybacked onto the annual cruise conducted for project 3.  Each dive will focus on a single lava flow of known age.