Marine larval ecology

Marine larval ecology is the study of the factors influencing dispersing larvae, which many marine invertebrates and fishes have. Marine animals with a larva typically release many larvae into the water column, where the larvae develop before metamorphosing into adults. Marine larvae can disperse over long distances, although determining the actual distance is challenging, because of their size and the lack of a good tracking method. Knowing dispersal distances is important for managing fisheries, effectively designing marine reserves, and controlling invasive species. Larval dispersal is one of the most important topics in marine ecology, today. Many marine invertebrates and many fishes have a bi-phasic life cycle with a pelagic larva or pelagic eggs that can be transported over long distances, and a demersal or benthic adult. There are several theories behind why these organisms have evolved this biphasic life history: Larvae use different food sources than adults, which decreases competition between life stages. Pelagic larvae can disperse large distances, colonize new territory, and move away from habitats that has become overcrowded or otherwise unsuitable. A long pelagic larval phase can help a species to break its parasite cycles. Pelagic larvae avoid benthic predators. Dispersing as pelagic larvae can be risky. For example, while larvae do avoid benthic predators, they are still exposed to pelagic predators in the water column. Marine larvae develop via one of three strategies: Direct, lecithotrophic, or planktotrophic. Each strategy has risks of predation and the difficulty of finding a good settlement site. Direct developing larvae look like the adult. They have typically very low dispersal potential, and are known as "crawl-away larvae", because they crawl away from their egg after hatching. Some species of frogs and snails hatch this way. Lecithotrophic larvae have greater dispersal potential than direct developers. Many fish species and some benthic invertebrates have lecithotrophic larvae, which have yolk droplets or a yolk sac for nutrition during dispersal.

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Detecting and quantifying marine pollution and macroplastics is an increasingly pressing ecological issue that directly impacts ecology and human health. Here, remote sensing can provide reliable estimates of plastic pollution by regularly monitoring and d ...

2023

Aerobiology over the Southern Ocean – implications for bacterial colonization of Antarctica

Julia Schmale

Parts of the Antarctic are experiencing dramatic ecosystem change due to rapid and record warming, which may weaken biogeographic boundaries and dispersal barriers, increasing the risks of biological invasions. In this study, we collected air samples from ...

2022

Automated flow control of a multi-lane swimming chamber for small fishes indicates species-specific sensitivity to experimental protocols

In fishes, swimming performance is considered an important metric to measure fitness, dispersal and migratory abilities. The swimming performance of individual larval fishes is often integrated into models to make inferences on how environmental parameters ...

2021

Marine invertebrates are the invertebrates that live in marine habitats. Invertebrate is a blanket term that includes all animals apart from the vertebrate members of the chordate phylum. Invertebrates lack a vertebral column, and some have evolved a shell or a hard exoskeleton. As on land and in the air, marine invertebrates have a large variety of body plans, and have been categorised into over 30 phyla. They make up most of the macroscopic life in the oceans.

Spawn is the eggs and sperm released or deposited into water by aquatic animals. As a verb, to spawn refers to the process of releasing the eggs and sperm, and the act of both sexes is called spawning. Most aquatic animals, except for aquatic mammals and reptiles, reproduce through the process of spawning. Spawn consists of the reproductive cells (gametes) of many aquatic animals, some of which will become fertilized and produce offspring.

Ichthyoplankton (from Greek: ἰχθύς, , "fish"; and πλαγκτός, , "drifter") are the eggs and larvae of fish. They are mostly found in the sunlit zone of the water column, less than 200 metres deep, which is sometimes called the epipelagic or photic zone. Ichthyoplankton are planktonic, meaning they cannot swim effectively under their own power, but must drift with the ocean currents. Fish eggs cannot swim at all, and are unambiguously planktonic. Early stage larvae swim poorly, but later stage larvae swim better and cease to be planktonic as they grow into juveniles.