Benthic fish dynamics after a natural disaster: Rebuilding from scratch

Natural disasters often affect the dynamics of marine ecosystems, the most common being the volcanic eruptions. However, despite being common these are understudied. The aim of this study was to describe the natural recovery of the benthic fish community on new lava flows. We performed periodic sampling until 26 months after the eruption ended. By the end of the monitoring, the fish community has practically recovered completely. Only a few of species remained undetected within the lava flows. Two patterns of colonisation were detected, adults and juvenile colonisers from nearby areas, and new recruits, that later became the most important source of individuals. No species turnover was observed. Territorial and less mobile species exhibited a certain delay in the colonisation of lava flows. Last, the recovery of other benthic communities is related with the fish community evolution.