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Exploring the beautiful nature of California


California Nature:  Kelp Forest Ecosystem


California's boundaries cover almost 156,000 square miles. It includes many diverse ecosystems including redwood forests, kelp forests and Death Valley's deserts. According to the California Chaparral Institute, the shrubland ecosystem is the most prevalent ecosystem in California with over 4 million acres.

An ecosystem encompasses all the living organisms and the physical features of an area. It also includes the interactions between them. An ecosystem stands apart from others because of its dominant feature, for example ocean, desert, forest or estuarine ecosystems. A habitat refers to a single population of organisms within the ecosystem.

The kelp forests off the coast of Monterey Bay depict a specialized ocean ecosystem. Brown algae, kelp, makes the trees in this forest. Other organisms that live in the forest include sea cucumbers, otters, abalone, blue rock fish and sea urchins. Kelp grows fast and gets used in many products like toothpaste and pudding.
kelp forest ecosystem off the coast of California Kelp forests grow predominantly on the Pacific Coast, from Alaska and Canada to the waters of Baja California. Tiered like a terrestrial rainforest with a canopy and several layers below, the kelp forests of the eastern Pacific coast are dominated by two canopy-forming, brown macroalgae species, giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) and bull kelp (Nereocystis leutkeana).

Giant kelp, perhaps the most recognized species of brown macroalgae, forms the more southern kelp forests, from the southern Channel Islands, of California to northwestern Baja. Along the central California coast where the distribution of giant kelp and bull kelp overlap, giant kelp out competes bull kelp for light.

Instead of tree-like roots that extend into the substrate, kelp has "anchors" called holdfasts that grip onto rocky substrates. water's surface. Gas bladders called pneumatocysts, another unique feature of kelp, keep the upper portions of the algae afloat. A giant kelp plant has a pneumatocyst at the base of each blade. In contrast, a bull kelp plant has only one pneumatocyst that supports several blades near the water's surface.
Kelp forests grow along rocky coastlines in depths of about 6 to 90 feet. Kelp favors nutrient-rich, cool waters that range in temperature from 42 to 72 Degrees F. These brown algae communities live in clear water conditions through which light penetrates easily.

Kelp recruits most successfully in regions where the ocean layers overturn, bringing cool, nutrient-rich bottom waters to the surface and regions with continuously cold, high-nutrient waters. Because the amount of dissolved inorganic nitrogen decreases significantly in warmer marine waters, kelp experiences reduced or negative growth rates in warm water. This phenomenon is particularly evident in southern California where giant kelp forests deteriorate in the summer months. Kelp survival is positively correlated with the strength of the substrate. The larger and stronger the rock on which it is anchored, the greater the chance of kelp survival. Winter storms and high-energy environments easily uproot the kelp and can wash entire plants ashore.
Sea urchins and jelly fish can be found in the kelp forest ecosystem in California nature Giant kelp is a perennial, living for several years, while bull kelp is an annual completing its life cycle in one year. Both types of kelp have a two-stage life cycle. They exist in their earliest life stages as spores, released with millions of others from the parent kelp, the sporophyte. The spores grow into a tiny male or female plant called a gametophyte, which produces either sperm or eggs. After fertilization occurs, the embryos may grow into mature plants (sporophytes), completing the life cycle.

Giant kelp can live up to seven years. Factors such as the severity of winter storms may affect its life span. Growing it the spring, it averages around 10 inches in a day, but can grow  as much as two feet in a day. The average growth of bull kelp is around 4 inches in a day.

A host of invertebrates, fish, marine mammals, and birds exist in kelp forest environs. From the holdfasts to the surface mats of kelp fronds, the array of habitats on the kelp itself may support thousands of invertebrate individuals, including polychaetes, amphipods, decapods, and ophiuroids.
California sea lions, harbor seals, sea otters, and whales may feed in the kelp or escape storms or predators in the shelter of kelp. On rare occasions gray whales have been spotted seeking refuge in kelp forests from predatory killer whales. All larger marine life, including birds and mammals, may retreat to kelp during storms or high-energy regimes because the kelp helps to weaken currents and waves.

Perhaps the most familiar image of kelp forests is a picture of a sea otter draped in strands of kelp, gripping a sea urchin on its belly. Both sea otters (Enhydra lutris) and sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus spp.) play critical roles in the stable equilibrium ecosystem. Sea urchins graze kelp and may reach population densities large enough to destroy kelp forests at the rate of 30 feet per month. Urchins move in "herds," and enough urchins may remain in the "barrens" of a former kelp forest to negate any attempt at regrowth. Sea otters, playing a critical role in containing the urchin populations, prey on urchins and thus control the numbers of kelp grazers.
 
 
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