Though spatially distinct, the Santa Barbara Channel’s subtidal kelp forests and its sandy beaches are intimately connected. Giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera), the foundation species of rocky reefs, also serves as a major part of the beach food web when fronds of the giant seaweed break away from the forest and are transported to the beach.
“The kelp forest and the beach are both highly dynamic ecosystems,” said UC Santa Barbara coastal marine ecologist Jenny Dugan, who co-authored the paper. “How the dynamics of those two ecosystems interact and behave is the key question here, especially with the beach system so dependent on the kelp forest.”