Several things can be monitored by setting up a Reefkeepers' project with a list of species on which survey observations can be made. Quite a few other questions can be addressed by using monitoring protocols of the Reefkeepers' Guide. If you have another idea for a project, contact us. Keystone species are species present in a biological community that are considered important to the community's ecological health. Indicator species are organisms that are known to show certain characteristics in the presence or absence of an environmental phenomenon.
Colonization is the arrival of life onto a new or modified habitat.
There are several types of colonization. One type is primary colonization, which is the arrival of life onto an entirely new habitat. Another type of colonization is secondary colonization, which occurs when a previously existing habitat is modified in a way that opens it up for new life to colonize it. This type of colonization may occur on the reef if a reef's surface is scraped, or by removal of plants and animals, through some type of human activity or through heavy storm activity. To some extent, secondary colonization occurs every spring on reefs in B.C. through larvae 'raining' down from the plankton layer where most plants and animals spend the first part of their life.