LIVE KELP FOREST WEBCAM AT BIRCH AQUARIUM
- Local Time
- Location: Birch Aquarium, La Jolla, California, United States
- Source: www.aquarium.ucsd.edu
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Info: Live kelp forest webcam at the Birch Aquarium in California.
The kelp forest exhibit replicates the kelp forest ecosystems found off the southern California coast which are vital for providing habitat and food for over 700 marine species.
This article explains all about the Kelp Forest Restoration Project in Santa Monica Bay.
More info: The Southern California Kelp Forest exhibit at Birch Aquarium is home to species including leopard sharks, moray eels, garibaldis and an endangered giant black sea bass.
Kelp forests grow predominantly along the Eastern Pacific Coast, from Alaska and Canada to the waters of Baja, California. Kelp forests are vital to the marine ecosystem, providing food and nursery areas for an array of fish and invertebrates, as well as shelter and protection from predators and storms.
Kelp is actually a marine algae and not a plant. Kelp species range from low-lying “bottom kelp” types to much taller species like the giant kelp, which can reach heights of more than 100 feet (30 m) Giant kelp often grows in turbulent water, which brings renewed supplies of nutrients and allows for extensive growth.
The structure of the kelp allows it to sway in the ocean currents and it doesn’t require a root system but instead relies upon a tangle of branching extensions called a holdfast to anchor itself to a rocky surface on the seafloor.
Additional information:
The Vanishing Forest nature.org
Kelp Forest Facts onetreeplanted.org