Kelp forests may function differently in a warming ocean

What is it about?

As the ocean warms, species are moving up slopes and towards the poles in order to remain within their preferred environmental conditions. Species with warm affinities are migrating to many habitats previously dominated by cold-water ones, transforming ecosystems as we know them. These so-called novel ecosystems feature a mix of warm- and cold-affinity species, but we don’t know whether they can retain desirable ecological processes and functions on which human well-being relies. We investigated whether forests dominated by a warm-water species of kelp would be able to maintain important ecosystem processes and functions.

Featured Image

Why is it important?

The NE Atlantic is experiencing rapid warming and several species. Kelp forests are key shallow subtidal habitats that offer shelter and food for a myriad of species, as well as providing numerous goods and services to coastal societies. The warm-water species of kelp we studied reached the UK in the late 1940s, but is now a common sight along the southwest coast and is predicted to continue expanding northwards in response to climate change, occupying most of the UK and large sections of the wider North-East Atlantic coastline by the end of the century.