Sturla Fridriksson.
Surtsey: ecosystems formed.
University of Iceland Press. 2005
The birth of the island was in itself an interesting geological phenomenon
but the island also became a biological laboratory,
where scientists could investigate how organisms disperse across the ocean to remote islands
and how plants and animals colonize completely barren areas
like Surtsey with its extremely hostile habitat,
sub-arctic environment and its substrate of lava, ash and pumice.
On Surtsey it was possible to demonstrate how seed and various living organisms
are carried by air or ocean currents over great distances
and how they manage to disperse on their own or are transported by other means.
The thorough investigations carried out on Surtsey
showed how the pioneers invaded the island and were gradually joined by others
in forming primitive societies and simple ecosystems.
These societies are then compared with the more advanced communities on neighboring islands
in order to predict the future development of life on Surtsey until it reaches its ecological climax.