 This was a rare opportunity to study this type of succession, as it is not often that data on an area exists after a disaster of this magnitude.Prior to the 2008 eruption, Kasatochi Island was a part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge(ANMWR).The United States Fish and Wildlife Service(USFWS), United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service had studied marine birds and mammals here since 1996, where they learned much about the pre-eruption ecology of the island.