Kelp Forests - Kelp, Kelp Forests, Sea Urchins, Sea Otters, And Kelp, Kelp Forests As An Economic Resource

Kelp Forests - Kelp

Kelp Forests - Kelp Forests

In some temperate marine habitats large species of brown algae can be extremely abundant. These ecosystems are known as kelp forests. Because they are extremely productive ecosystems, and have a great deal of physical structure associated with their seaweed biomass, kelp forests provide habitat for a wide range of marine organisms. These include a diversity of species of smaller algae, invertebrat…

Kelp Forests - Sea Urchins, Sea Otters, And Kelp

Sea urchins are marine invertebrates that feed voraciously on kelp biomass (they are herbivores meaning that plants are their primary source of food). Periodically, sea urchins of the genus Strongylocentrotus can become extremely abundant and cause an intense disturbance to the kelp-forest ecosystem. They do this by feeding on the holdfasts and causing the kelp to detach from their rocky anchors, …

Kelp Forests - Kelp Forests As An Economic Resource

Seaweed biomass contains a number of useful chemicals, such as alginates used as thickeners and gelling agents in a wide variety of manufactured products. A more minor use is as a food supplement. In some regions kelps are being harvested as an economic resource to supply these industrial chemicals. Off the coast of California, for example, kelp harvesting amounts to as much as 176,000 tons (160,0…