The importance of marine larvae

The image on our cover reveals the devastating and unexpected consequences of sedimentation and subsequent infection of benthic suspension feeders on the sea bed (Topçu et al. Reference Topçu, Turgay, Yardımcı, Topaloğlu, Yüksek, Steinum, Karataş and Öztürk2019). ‘Before’ and ‘after’ photographs starkly reveal what are probably the unseen consequences of construction on land, highlighting the need for careful environmental evaluation and planning for such activities. We can only hope that, in time, this present bleak scenario will be mitigated by the recolonization of the area by new communities. This is not a forlorn hope as many marine phyla have larval stages in their life cycle as a consequence of their evolution (Neilsen Reference Neilsen1998). However, the nature of any recolonization will depend on the quality of surrounding habitats and larval supply as highlighted in recent articles by Roth et al. (Reference Roth, Saalmann, Thomson, Coker, Villalobos, Jones, Wild and Carvalho2018) and Kinninmonth et al. (Reference Kininmonth, Weeks, Abesamis, Bernardo, Berger, Treml, Williamson and Pressey2018).