#fascinating!!!!

Giant kelp forests are a wonder of the underwater world. They share many similarities with terrestrial forests: lush understories, diverse fauna and verdant canopies that stretch skyward toward the sunlight. However, they also have features completely foreign to any woodland. Giant kelp is among the fastest growing organisms on Earth—able to grow up to two feet per day under ideal conditions—with a lifecycle much shorter than that of any tree. Also, unlike trees, the presence of the giant algae can change rapidly: Storms can uproot entire kelp forests in February that grow back by September.

These factors make for a forest that is always in flux. "If you have a really dynamic foundation species, like giant kelp, this can cause fluctuations in environmental conditions," said Detmer, a first-year doctoral student in the lab of Holly Moeller

The results highlight the effect of a dynamic foundation species, like giant kelp, in shaping an equally dynamic ecosystem. In contrast, ecosystems with more stable foundation species, like redwoods for instance, don't exhibit this kind of behavior. "Visitors to Muir Woods expect to see a redwood forest regardless of the time of year," Moeller said. "But visitors to a kelp forest could find sparse kelp and a carpet of seafloor macroalgae on one dive, and return to see a dense kelp canopy just a few months later."