Today I will be talking about Giant Kelp! This is not actually a plant (yes it was put into the plant category though), but a species of brown macro algae! They are considered as a type of seaweed, but are not the same thing. Kelp does not have a root system (customary to "true plants"), but rather a “holdfast” that keeps it secure to its rocky substrates primarily in the Northeast Pacific Ocean. These colder waters are very nutrient rich, allowing the kelp to grow up to 18 inches a day creating huge kelp forests! They live in clear sunlit waters where they photosynthesize and uptake nutrients very efficiently! They provide shelter, nurseries, and feeding habitats to numerous aquatic and terrestrial species including sea otters, seals, and shorebirds. Kelp grow in depths of 6-100feet and can grow to be 150 feet tall (I guess they can bunch up in the water)!! They have unique features called pneumatocysts, which are gas filled bladders/sacks that help keep their blades afloat and upright in the water column. Kelp are impacted by increased wave action from storms, warmer waters that hinder their growth, or predation from sea urchins. The top down effect that sea otters play by consuming sea urchins helps to keep their populations in check and allow kelp to flourish. Kelp form the basis of the food chain in these coastal areas and without them the dynamics and biodiversity of the area dramatically changes, which is why it is so important to sustainably manage kelp for not only our use of them but for the ecosystem functions they support!
Originally posted on 28 April 2019
(not my pictures)
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