When the volcanic island of Surtsey rose from the North Atlantic Ocean in 1963, it offered scientists a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to observe how life takes hold on brand-new and barren land. For decades, ecologists believed that plants' ability to reach remote and isolated places depended mainly on special adaptations for long-distance dispersal—for example, fleshy fruits thought to attract birds, which would eat the fruit and later disperse the seeds—giving those species a decisive advantage in colonizing new areas.