Kelp Forests Flashcards
Where are kelp forests found?
Temperate to polar regions
Are kelp forests highly productive and diverse
Yes
Where are they found, environment wise?
Rocky coastlines in cool nutrient dense waters. Near coastal upwellings
What is an upwelling?
Where along shore winds cause nutrient dense after to rise to the surface
What is kelp?
Algae
Which of kelps tissues can perform photosynthesis?
All of the tissues
Key components of kelp
Has holdfasts, stipes (stem structures), and blades (leaf like). Also has pneumatocysts
Pneumatocysts - function and what are they
Gas filled floats that bring the kelp plant closer to the surface of the water
How does algal reproduction work? Summarize quickly
Has an alteration of sporophyte and gametophyte generations. Adult plant produces spores that turn into male and female gametophytes. Eventually those fertilize via water column. Microspcopc sporophyte will settle on rocky substrate and develop into adult form over time.
What sort of ecosystem services do kelp provide?
- Oxygenation of marine environments
- nursery habitat
- creates structure throughout the water column to support other organisms
- base of coastal food webs
- carbon sequestration
- coastal protection
- can be harvested in some areas
Where does kelp production end up?
In a balanced system, most kelp breaks down into dissolved organic matter or particulate organic carbon
What is DOM
Dissolved organic matter
What is POC
Particulate organic carbon
What sort of phase shift are we seeing with kelp forests? Kelp to ___
Urchin barrens
What is causing this phase shift?
Increase in herbivory, other stressors
What is a synergistic effect
I think it’s like when a lot of small factors add up to have a big effect on an ecosystem
Increased herbivory of live kelp forests causes
Decrease in amount of DOM
