November 2024 Webinar

Morning

The Golden Kelp Ecklonia radiata has been lost from subtidal reef habitats in Port Phillip Bay due to overgrazing following a population boom of the native urchin Heliocidaris erthryogramma. Loss of Golden Kelp has led to a loss of the marine communities they support. A trial to restore this habitat, we seeded Ecklonia radiata onto cotton twine and green gravel using donor sori collected from healthy populations in laboratory aquaria. Green gravel and twine were then outplanted onto barren reefs being managed for urchins. This talk will discuss our findings.

Giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) is a vital species facing threats from climate change. It plays an important role in marine ecosystems and is harvested for uses like alginate production, fertilizers, and animal feed. As kelp farming expands, maintaining diverse genetic resources is essential for both conservation and industry. We studied how 204 strains of giant kelp from Southern California respond to heat stress using genetic analysis and fluorescence imaging. A new method was developed to monitor chlorophyll changes and sub-cellular effects from temperatures between 21°C and 27°C. Results showed kelp's heat tolerance is limited, with severe damage occurring at 27°C. Some strains with better heat tolerance also produced more biomass when grown in warm water. Genetic analysis revealed key genes involved in stress response, which could help guide kelp conservation and farming efforts.

The Kelp Forest Alliance and Ocean Wise have created a guidebook to provide an overview of the different methodologies for monitoring kelp forest ecosystems, provide instructions for restoration practitioners and stewards of kelp forests. Any project that monitors kelp forest ecosystems should find this guide to be a valuable resource to track the extent, health,and associated benefits of kelp forests. As the field grows, the standardized approaches described here will help information sharing, synthesis studies, andthe communication of the benefits of kelp forestecosystems. The guidelines are presented as the best available information and will be updated as the field grows with new technologies and research.