pioneer species are the first organisms that colonise an area, of which lithoseres are an example. they will typically be very hardy ("i.e.", they will be xerophytes, wind-resistant or cold-resistant). in the case of a lithosere the pioneer species will be cyanobacteria and algae, which create their own food and water—"i.e.", they are autotrophic and so do not require any external nutrition (except sunlight). for example, the first lithosere observed after the volcanic explosion of krakatoa was algae. other examples of lithoseres include communities of mosses and lichens, as they are extremely resilient and are capable of surviving in areas without soil.