Editing Surtsey (section)

====Marine life====
Soon after the island's formation, [[Pinniped|seals]] were seen around the island. They soon began basking there, particularly on the northern spit, which grew as the waves eroded the island. Seals were found to be breeding on the island in 1983, and a group of up to 70 made the island their breeding spot. [[Grey seal]]s are more common on the island than [[harbour seal]]s, but both are now well established.<ref>{{citation|last=Hauksson|first=Erlingur|year=1992|title=Observations on Seals on Surtsey in the Period 1980–1989|journal=Surtsey Research Progress Report X|url=http://surtsey.is/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/1992_X_2_03.pdf|pages=31–32|access-date=2008-07-14|archive-date=February 10, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240210061957/http://surtsey.is/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/1992_X_2_03.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The presence of seals attracts [[orca]]s, which are frequently seen in the waters around the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago and now frequent the waters around Surtsey.

On the submarine portion of the island, many marine species are found. [[Starfish]] are abundant, as are [[sea urchin]]s and [[limpet]]s. The rocks are covered in [[algae]], and [[seaweed]] covers much of the submarine slopes of the volcano, with its densest cover between {{convert|10|and|20|m|ft}} below sea level.<ref>{{citation| url=http://www.vulkaner.no/n/surtsey/esurtseal.html|title= The volcano Island Surtsey, Iceland: Sealife| publisher=Our Beautiful World|access-date=2008-07-08}}</ref>