How does colonization happen in the ocean?
Top Every year, a natural “shower” of life pelts the ocean floor, including reefs, with larvae falling out of the plankton layer where they spent the first part of their life. The larvae represent thousands of species of marine plants and animals such as seaweeds, clams, barnacles, crabs, and others. Each species requires different habitat characteristics, and the larvae will only survive if they end up in an appropriate habitat before they use up their energy reserves. Reefs provide safe havens for those species that require a reef habitat.
