Charles Crisafulli and His Colleagues Studied Populations of Small Mammals

Charles Crisafulli and his colleagues studied populations of small mammals on Mount St.Helens over 20 years following the volcanic eruption.They studied mammals in the Pumice Plain (primary succession) and in the Blowdown Zone and Tephra-fall Zone (secondary succession) and compared them with an unaffected reference area.What was the result of this study?

A) Secondary succession areas recovered to near reference-area levels; the primary succession area showed little recovery.
B) The primary succession area recovered to near reference-area levels; secondary succession areas showed little recovery.
C) All three areas recovered to near reference-area levels.
D) None of the three areas recovered to near reference-area levels; all had significantly fewer species.
E) Secondary succession areas recovered and had much higher species diversity than the unaffected area; the primary succession area had no mammals at all.