Geography 2152F/G Lecture : Video Questions - Mt St Helens
Document Summary
Lived entirely beneath the ground, so it was safely protected: describe the relationship between bacteria and the prairie lupine plant. It grew, and flourished (full flower) at the high slopes of mt helen, at a barren area where everything else died. The bacteria provide the bacteria with nitrogen and the plant provided the bacteria with simple sugars (for photosynthesis). The eruption destroyed all visible life in lake, the lake was filled with debris. But, there was an explosion of bacteria in the lake. The bacteria rapidly consumed the oxygen, making life impossible for any air-breathing organisms including fish, amphibians and insects. Eventually, as the debris settles and the light levels improve, 3 years later there was a discovery of phytoplankton in the lake. This was was important because these plants turn sunlight into oxygen; they are the basic building block of aquatic life.
