Kelp Anatomy
This root-like structure anchors the kelp to the ocean floor, but does not absorb nutrients like the roots of land plants.
What is a holdfast?
This is the trophic level that kelp occupies because it uses sunlight to create its own food through photosynthesis.
What is a producer?
This is the name for the powerful, indirect effect that a predator at the top of the food web has on the plants (producers) at the bottom.
What is a trophic cascade?
This is the common food thickener made from kelp that is often found in things like ice cream, salad dressing, and toothpaste.
What is alginate (or carrageenan)?
On a good day, some species of giant kelp can grow this many feet in height—making it one of the fastest-growing organisms on Earth.
What is 1 to 2 feet (or more)?
This is the main stalk or stem of the kelp, extending from the holdfast up toward the water's surface.
What is the stipe?
Organisms, such as sea urchins, that get their energy by eating the kelp directly are categorized into this specific trophic level.
What is a primary consumer (or herbivore)?
In the kelp forest, the population of this primary consumer is controlled by sea otters, which prevents them from overgrazing the kelp.
What is a sea urchin?
Kelp forests are a major source of oxygen for the atmosphere and help store this greenhouse gas, which is important for combating climate change.
What is carbon dioxide?
Giant kelp can reach heights of up to 175 feet, meaning it is taller than this famous American statue in New York Harbor.
What is the Statue of Liberty?
These are the flat, leaf-like parts on the kelp where photosynthesis primarily takes place.
What are the lamina (or blades)?
This is the specific ecological role of the sea otter in the kelp forest food web, due to its critical control over the urchin population.
What is a keystone species?
This is the ecological result that happens when the sea otter population declines, allowing the sea urchin population to explode and destroy the kelp.
What is an urchin barren?
Coastal communities rely on the kelp forest ecosystem to provide a nursery and habitat for commercially valuable species, supporting this human industry.
What is fishing (or commercial fishing)?
This is the scientific term for the sticky, slimy substance on kelp that protects it from bacteria and drying out when the tide is low.
What is mucus?
This small, gas-filled sac helps keep the kelp blades floating near the surface where they can capture sunlight.
What is a pneumatocyst (or air bladder)?
This happens to most of the energy (around 90%) when it is transferred from one trophic level to the next.
What is it lost as heat?
This disease wiped out most sea stars on the Pacific Coast in 2013.
What is sea star wasting disease?
This ecosystem service describes how kelp forests and their large fronds absorb wave energy, protecting human-built structures like roads and homes from coastal erosion.
What is shoreline stabilization (or coastal protection)?
The entire community of kelp, along with all the other organisms it supports, is sometimes referred to by this nickname, highlighting its three-dimensional structure.
What is the underwater rainforest?
Although containing plant cells, this species of seaweed is actually this.
What is an algae?
Name any three animals in a kelp forest
The reintroduction of this specific predator, which was hunted almost to extinction, is credited with allowing kelp forests to recover in many parts of the Pacific.
What is the sea otter or sunflower sea star?
This plant pigment in kelp, which allows it to absorb sunlight, experiences a dramatic increase in density and coverage when sea otters are present and keeping urchins in check.
What is chlorophyll?
What is Mr Topil's favorite marine ecosystem?
Kelp Forests