KILAUEA, HAWAII- Since the first eruption on May 3rd, homes and lives have been destroyed, but not only the people. Recently a mandatory evacuation has been enacted as the 4 week eruption mark has hit, however the ecosystems cannot evacuate as well. Many do not know of the effects of an eruption on the surrounding ecosystems.

The cloud of ash emitted during the eruption contains a massive amount of Sulfur Dioxide gas into the air, this can cause acid rain as the gas is toxic. The other gases such as CO2  contribute to development of climate change. These gases and ash work together to damage the atmosphere. A major problem with this is that the tremendous amount of ash reflects the sunlight so there is a limit to how much sunlight the surviving ecosystems get, this helps to quicken the process of destroying ecosystems.

The pyroclastic flows from volcanic eruptions also cause crops and plants to die, thus leaving many animals, including livestock to starve to death. Since the eruptions are on going, scientists have not yet determined the total wildlife casualty counts, however we can see how volcanoes affect animals based on the data from the Mount St. Helen eruption in 1980.

The wildlife casualty count consisted of thousands of death: 11,000 rabbits, 6,000 deer, 5,200 elk, 1,400 coyotes, 200 black bears, and 15 mountain lions. These amounts were just from the pyroclastic flow, there were even more as the carnivores had less food to eat causing them to starve. These deaths don’t even include aquatic life.

The eruption causes the Ph level of the water to decrease due to the acid rain and other chemicals emitted into the atmosphere. The fish and other aquatic life then die out as they are not adapted to live in such low Ph levels. The algae also dies out because of this. The pyroclastic flow is not the only thing to kill the plants. The lava hardens into rock in which prevents other plants from restemming and growing at all.

While we need to help those who’ve lost their homes in the eruption, we also need to help the ecosystems which were also lost. Since the island is in evacuation going there to help wouldn’t do anything, but you can and should donate to charities which help to revert the problems caused by the eruption.