Recruitment of Infauna: Positive or Negative Cues?

The current paradigm for recruitment invokes passive transportof the larva in the water column followed by larval choice ofhabitat after deposition of the larva on or near the bottom.Larval choice is typically considered to be based on positivecues. I argue herein that the evidence for emphasizing rejectionof substrata by negative cues is at least as compelling as thatfor acceptance by positive cues. Data from the literature oncosts of rejection of settlement sites, types of emigrationby larvae and/or juveniles, and criteria by which infaunal larvaeand/or juveniles reject habitats are used to support this thes.