Colonization of artificial seagrass versus time and distance from source

In order to measure the ability of seagrass associated macrofauna to colonize 'empty' habitat patches, we studied the colonization of artificial seagrass, a natural seagrass mimic. In 2 separate experiments, we measured colonization (1) over a time series of 0.5 to 16 d and (2) over a distance series of 0 to 15 m from the source pool of colonists in a seagrass meadow in the Indian River lagoon, Florida. Colonization over time was rapid. Abundance and species richness peaked in 4 to 8 d, while abundances of individual species continued to fluctuate.