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Many groups, like those at the Seattle Aquarium, are studying the health, habitat, and population trends in order to understand why certain kelp (like bull kelp) thrives in some areas and not others. Remotely Operated Vehicles are used in the surveying of sites and the data extracted is used to learn about which conditions are best suited for ...
Frequently considered an ecosystem engineer, kelp provides a physical substrate and habitat for kelp forest communities. [16] In algae (kingdom Protista ), the body of an individual organism is known as a thallus rather than as a plant (kingdom Plantae ).
The Giant kelp marine forests of south east Australia is a community extending from the ocean floor to the ocean surface, on a rocky substrate, and has a ‘forest-like’ structure with many organisms occupying its various layers, including pelagic and demersal fishes, sea birds, turtles and marine mammals in addition to the invertebrate ...
A marine habitat is a habitat that supports marine life. Marine life depends in some way on the saltwater that is in the sea (the term marine comes from the Latin mare, meaning sea or ocean). A habitat is an ecological or environmental area inhabited by one or more living species. [1] The marine environment supports many kinds of these habitats.
Kelp forests provide important habitats for many fish species, sea otters and sea urchins. Directly and indirectly, marine coastal ecosystems provide vast arrays of ecosystem services for humans, such as cycling nutrients and elements, and purifying water by filtering pollutants. They sequester carbon as a cushion against climate change.
Its fast growth and size provide an important habitat not only for the fish and invertebrates that reside in kelp forests, but also for species that use kelp forests as foraging grounds. [15] In bull kelp forests, kelp crabs are important grazers that control the ecosystem by feeding on large canopy kelps such as Nereocystis. [16]
The kelp floats as a raft and can travel vast distances at sea, driven by ocean currents. Kelp-associated invertebrates can be transported inside of drifting holdfasts, potentially leading to long-distance dispersal and a significant impact upon the population genetic structure of those species. [26] [27] [28] [29]
Macrocystis is a monospecific genus [3] of kelp (large brown algae) with all species now synonymous with Macrocystis pyrifera. It is commonly known as giant kelp or bladder kelp. This genus contains the largest of all the Phaeophyceae or brown algae. Macrocystis has pneumatocysts at the base of its blades.