Surtsey Final

By primaryscience

  • Underwater eruptions started forming Surtsey

  • Insects arrive by flying, floating, drifting materials,

  • First insect discovered

  • Sea roclet found

  • First mosses found

  • Eruptions forming Surtsey finish

  • Birds first landed on Surtsey

  • Sea lyme grass, sea sandwort and oyster plant established themselves

  • Sea rocket flowered

  • Six species of moss discovered

  • Sea sandwort survived winter - first plant to do so

  • First nesting birds - black guillemot and fulmar

  • Lichens found

  • Sea sandwort first seeded

  • Sea lyme grass and Oyster plant start seeding

  • Conditions barren and soil quality poor

  • Establishment of gull colony

  • Soil fertility improved

  • Number of breeding pairs of gulls risen to 200

  • 6 species of birds breeding

  • Number orf plant species grew from 21 to 44

  • First earthworms found in soil

  • Invertebrates found in Surtsey

    Ants, bees, butterflies, snails, true flies, beetles, spiders and segmented worms

  • 53 species of mosses found

  • 11 breeding species of bird foun d in census

  • 76 invertebrate speices found

  • Surtsey World Heritage Listed