Top-Down Lowdown: Predators shape coastal ecosystem
The health of southern California kelp forests may depend more on the ecosystem’s predator population than on the forest’s access to nutrients, researchers report. The finding suggests that fishing practices have a profound impact on these ecosystems.
Kelp forests grow worldwide in shallow coastal areas with mild climates. The brown seaweed called kelp reaches from the ocean floor to the water’s surface, usually spanning 10 to 20 meters, says Benjamin S. Halpern of the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis in Santa Barbara, Calif. Along western U.S. coasts, these ecosystems support up to 1,000 species of fish, plants, and invertebrates, he says.