Bats of Montserrat: Population Fluctuation and Response to Hurricanes and Volcanoes, 1978-2005 (original) (raw)

Montserrat is one of several volcanic islands in the archipelago that have been created by the subduction of the Atlantic tectonic plate beneath the Caribbean plate. Most of these islands are dominated by andesitic stratovolcanoes (steep-sided symmetrical cones) that are the result of explosive eruptions and extensive pyroclastic flows that generate a cone composed of alternating layers of volcanic debris. Stratovolcanoes are quite different from the gently sloping shield volcanoes, such as those in Hawaii, which are typically nonexplosive and which produce fluid lavas that can flow great distances from active vents. There are three volcanic massifs on Montserrat-Silver Hills in the north, Centre Hills, and, largest and youngest, the Soufrière Hills, which occupy the southern half of the island (fig. 11.2). Due to its location on a fault line, earthquakes are not uncommon on Montserrat, with several periods of activity reported from the 1890s, 1930s, and 1960s (e.g., Perret 1939). Renewed seismic activity and pyroclastic flows from the Soufrière Hills volcano, which began in 1995, have progressively reduced the eastern and western flanks of the volcano to an ecological wasteland and have buried much of the southern half of the island under varying amounts of volcanic ash. Figure 11.1. Map of the Lesser Antilles showing the position of Montserrat (16°45′N, 62°10′W).