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In a collaborative effort, the Division of Environment and Conservation, of  the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE), united with the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) to successfully conclude the initial phase of the Terrestrial Biodive

The fate of terrestrial biodiversity during an oceanic island volcanic eruption

Volcanic activity provides a unique opportunity to study the ecological responses of organisms to catastrophic environmental destruction as an essential driver of biodiversity change on islands. However, despite this great scientific interest, no study of the biodiversity at an erupting volcano has yet been undertaken. On La Palma (Canary archipelago), we quantified the main species affected and their fate during the 85-day eruption (September–December 2021). Our main objective consisted of monitoring the biodiversity subjected to critical stress during this volcanic eruption.