St Helena and Ascension Island Natural History

South Atlantic islands, ecological restoration, conservation, geology, plants, birds, turtles, insects and much more

We have been studying these two islands for almost half a century and this site reflects our enthusiasm for all aspects of their biology.
 

Philip

         Myrtle

The islands of St Helena and Ascension are two of the most isolated islands in the world -  the tips of enormous volcanoes rising from the depths of the Atlantic Ocean. St Helena was formed some 14 million years ago, but Ascension is only a tenth as old. On St Helena, plants and animals have evolved and diversified in isolation for millions of years and the landscape has been transformed.. In contrast, the ecological youth of Ascension leaves it strange and forbidding, but with its own biological surprises and its own austere beauty.

The endemic St Helena Wirebird

The endemic Ascension Island Frigatebird