Habitats: Kelp – Characteristics
Kelp forests grow along rocky coastlines in depths of 18 to 90 feet (6 to 30 meters). Kelps are types of brown algae, which hold on to the rocky bottom with root-like structures called holdfasts. From these holdfasts, long streamers of kelp grow up toward the surface, with gas bladders at each leaf to keep the plant upright, such as on the Giant Perennial Kelp. Bull Kelp has a hollow stem and a single large gas bladder near the water’s surface from which streamers grow.
Habitats: Kelp – Animal Life
Many varieties of fish and other sea creatures can be found in kelp forests. Sea urchins, sea cucumbers and starfish live among the holdfasts and rocky bottom. Since sea urchins nibble at the base of the kelp streamers and detach them from the bottom, they become a problem when their numbers grow too large. Luckily, sea otters love to eat urchins and help keep their numbers down. Sponges and bryozoans also live along the bottom, as do many varieties of fish and eels.
Other fish live among the kelp strands, munching on smaller creatures whenever they find them. Giant Sea Bass, Kelp Bass and the Garibaldi live this way. Still other fish, such as the Halfmoon, Topsmelt and Blacksmith fish, use the kelp as shelter, eating primarily plankton.
Habitats: Kelp -Humans & the Environment
Kelp is harvested commercially for food and for other substances, like alginates, which are used as thickeners. Kelp as a food is an important part of many island cultures. In some parts of the world, it is grown on huge frames suspended in the water so that it is easier to harvest. Using this method, kelp farmers are not dependent on the rocky bottom teeming with hungry sea urchins!
Recreation kelp forests are popular places to dive, since they offer such a large variety of fish and other sea creatures to observe.
Along the western coast of North America, one of the main concerns in kelp beds is maintaining a balanced ecosystem. When one type of creature becomes too plentiful, the natural balance is thrown off, and the whole kelp bed suffers. One way this natural balance can be disturbed is when large cities pump sewage into the ocean. This can cause a boom in the numbers of urchins, which will cause widespread destruction of the forests by chewing the kelp streamers free from their holdfasts. Unless the populations of sea otters and other predators rise as well, the numbers of urchins can grow too great, and large portions of kelp beds can be destroyed.
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