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Concept
Marine larval ecology
Summary
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.
Official source
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