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Oceanic dispersal
Biological dispersal across oceans / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Rafting event" redirects here. For using rafts as a sport or leisure activity, see Rafting.
Oceanic dispersal is a type of biological dispersal that occurs when terrestrial organisms transfer from one land mass to another by way of a sea crossing. Island hopping is the crossing of an ocean by a series of shorter journeys between islands, as opposed to a single journey directly to the destination. Often this occurs via large rafts of floating vegetation such as are sometimes seen floating down major rivers in the tropics and washing out to sea, occasionally with animals trapped on them.[1] Dispersal via such a raft is sometimes referred to as a rafting event.[2] Colonization of land masses by plants can also occur via long-distance oceanic dispersal of floating seeds.[3]
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