Impact of Tagoro Volcano Formation on Benthic Habitats and Associated Biota: A Review

Since Tagoro volcano erupted in 2011, several impacts have been associated to the volcano formation process, some of which are still present to date. This chapter is a review of the marine environmental perturbations caused by Tagoro volcano as a new geological structure, but thoroughly onto the partly annihilated benthic and demersal pre-existing biota, and the colonizing dynamics during the recovery process. Shallow recent volcanic activity in the NE Atlantic is uncommon, thus, Tagoro provides a unique opportunity to study, from the very beginning, the evolution of the unusual shallow hydrothermal systems, and the establishment of new marine habitats and associated biota. Distinct habitat types, with different associated deposit products (volcaniclastic aprons, lava balloons, lava ponds, etc.), have been described, and a description of the colonizing biota has been made from the available published works as well as from underwater imagery and benthic dredge samples taken during several field expeditions (Vulcano0313, 1013, 0314 and Vulcana0417). Those habitats included hard (rocky) and mixed (loose) substrate habitats, but also extreme habitats with hydrothermal vents and bacterial mats, accompanied by significant physical and chemical anomalies. Habitat preference by the observed taxa among the volcanic edifice has been explored through nMDS analyses, and a comparative analysis with published data of the typical fauna of the region (La Restinga, Mar de Las Calmas, Marine Reserve, El Hierro Island), permitted to foresee the very first steps and direction of the recovery of the benthic and demersal communities. The impact caused by Tagoro onto the nearest littoral benthic communities, the ichthyofauna and the local fisheries have been described as well. Finally, some recommendations and further steps are given in order to adequately monitor the successional trend and environmental status of the benthic and demersal communities.