A handful of gophers, dropped onto Mount St Helens for just one day in 1982, ended up transforming the landscape for decades. Their digging brought buried, nutrient-rich soil back to the surface, jumpstarting plant growth in an area devastated by volcanic ash. Even 40 years later, scientists found that spots where gophers worked are packed with more diverse fungi and bacteria than untouched forests nearby. It’s wild to think that a so-called pest could be a hero in restoring nature after disaster. What other overlooked creatures might play a hidden role in our ecosystems? #Science #MountStHelens #Ecology