View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-secret-lives-of-baby-fish-amy-mcdermott

Coral reef fish, like the yellow tang surgeonfish, begin life in a fascinating and weird way – as tiny floating larvae! These babies are capable of drifting thousands of miles on ocean currents, far from the reefs where they were born. Amy McDermott describes how these tiny trekkers travel across vast oceans, searching for the far-flung reefs they will one day call home.

Lesson by Amy McDermott, animation by Reflective Films.