In October 2011 took place the first submarine volcanic eruption in the last 500 yrs. of the volcanological history of the Canary Islands. The El Hierro island submarine volcano emitted to the ocean a large quantity of earth mantle materials as well as gases and heat that perturbed significantly the physicochemical properties of the waters surrounding the island.
In October 2011 took place the first submarine volcanic eruption in the last 500 yrs. of the volcanological history of the Canary Islands. The El Hierro island submarine volcano emitted to the ocean a large quantity of earth mantle materials as well as gases and heat that perturbed significantly the physicochemical properties of the waters surrounding the island. This unprecedented fact allowed the oceanographic researchers to take samples to evaluate the effect of this type of volcanic phenomena on the marine microorganisms, particularly on the bacterial and archaeal planktonic communities, an essential component of the marine food web.
The bacterial community increased abundance and relative activity but reduced its diversity and a change in species composition was observed. Three months after the start of the submarine eruption the effects on plankton were no longer visible and the communities returned to normality.
A study published in the open-access journal PloS ONE, with Isabel Ferrera, a scientist at the Department of Marine Biology and Oceanography of the ICM, as first author, analyzed the water column from the surface down to 2,000 m. The results revealed that as a consequence of the eruption, the bacterial and archaeal communities increased in abundance and relative activity but reduced biodiversity and the species composition changed. Species typical from deep hydrothermal vents appeared at the ocean surface. The study concludes that three months after the start of the submarine eruption the effects on the plankton were no longer visible and the communities returned to normality.
The researchers run several cruises during 6 months on board R/V Ramon Margalef (Instituto Español de Oceanografia, IEO) and R/V Atlantic Explorer, chartered by Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, ULPGC).
The authors of the study belong to the Institut de Ciències del Mar in Barcelona (CSIC), Instituto de Oceanografía y Cambio Global (ULPGC), Centro Oceanográfico de Canarias (IEO) and University of la Laguna. This research was supported by research projects Bimbache (IEO) & VULCANO (Ministry of Economy and Competitivity and FEDER funds).
Artícle
Isabel Ferrera, Javier Arístegui, José M. González, María F. Montero, Eugenio Fraile-Nuez, Josep M. Gasol (2015) Transient changes in bacterioplankton communities induced by the submarine volcanic eruption of El Hierro (Canary Islands). PLoS One. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0118136