Marine Biology 10th Edition by Peter Castro,Michael Huber

Exercise 1

The settling and metamorphosis of planktonic larvae can be triggered by the type of bottom (see Fig. 13.5). What kind of bottom features might be involved?
FIGURE 13.5 Many factors are known to influence the settlement and metamorphosis of planktonic larvae. The larva illustrated on the left, a megalopa (see Fig. 7.41), belongs to a crab ( Echinoecus pentagonus ) that as an adult lives on tropical sea urchins. The larva on the right is the cypris larva of a barnacle. Many barnacle larvae settle near adults of their species. Both larvae are tiny when compared to the adults. They are enlarged to show their morphologies.