Secrets of the Kelp Forest...

[mikeguerrero]

Take a look at this short video:

Secrets of the Kelp Forest Video

What do you think? Do you agree with what the narrator says about the Monterey Bay Kelp forests? :depressed:

 

[Peter_C]

Our eco system is so intertwined from one life form to the other, we can not fully understand what the ramifications of removing a single species actually does.

Ying and Yang...

Having seen for ourselves what man is capable of doing (Otter extinction, over fishing, pollution, etc.) and knowing that it is not improving, what will eventually happen to our oceans?

Would you be willing to make a drastic lifestyle change to better the oceans and all life?

 

[drbill]

I've never dived the kelp forests up in the Monterey area, so it is hard to comment from personal experience. However, as a kelp forest ecologist of 40 years, what I heard in the video by my old friend Jean-Michel's video certainly was consistent with my observations down here regarding the removal of sea urchin predators through fishing and the extinbction of the sea otter in our par of its former range.

Kelp forest ecosystems in unprotected areas around my island and on the mainland have been affected by the over fishing of sheephead and lobster, both predators on sea urchins. Of course the SoCal otter population was gone by the early 1800s.

 

[dannobee]

I've never dived the kelp forests up in the Monterey area...

We'll have to fix that, Bill. Come up some time!

The kelp forests up here (the Carmel side, not so much the Monterey side) sometimes have hundreds of stipes and look a LOT thicker than the So Cal kelp. And I can't recall ever seeing an urchin barren up here.

 

[kathydee]

We'll have to fix that, Bill. Come up some time!

Yeah! I second the invitation !!

 

[drbill]

Believe me, I would love to take a leisurely drive up Highway One and do some diving up there. I'm just not sure my ancient car would make it... I'd probably get stranded in Santa Lucia.

 

[rdjiv]

Recommend a Reef Check class or something similar. I learned a lot about the local ecology during this 2-week long course and all of what the video discussed was presented.

On another note, how did they manage to get video of a harbor seal/sea lion school? Talk about an epic dive.

 

[mikeguerrero]

Our eco system is so intertwined from one life form to the other, we can not fully understand what the ramifications of removing a single species actually does.

Peter, run the reciprocal to better understand removal of a species. The studies done in Yellowstone National Park, clearly showed that the reintroduction of one single species had a booming affect on the proliferation of other species. This occurred with the reintroducing the Wolves.

They came back in and controlled the bison and elk that were exploding, in turn a single kill on an elk brought back hundreds of bugs/beetles to help the circle of life.

Song birds were now able to set up nest and feed in the overgrown bushes and shrubs the elk had decimated before.

So a lot can be learned by introducing back a single species that had been seen as a pest before. I am sure the same understanding could take place in our ecosystems of Monterey.

Ying and Yang...

Having seen for ourselves what man is capable of doing (Otter extinction, over fishing, pollution, etc.) and knowing that it is not improving, what will eventually happen to our oceans?

If left without an understanding. the results could be very devastating.

Would you be willing to make a drastic lifestyle change to better the oceans and all life?

Oh course, I'm making a drastic lifestyle change already. At the college in which I teach (Environmental Science), I squeeze into the syllabus one week of preservation/conservation of Monterey Bay. It's not part of their curriculum, and it takes more time to grade extra papers, but I do it for the passion I have of our coast line.

 

[FishDiver]

Recommend a Reef Check class or something similar. I learned a lot about the local ecology during this 2-week long course and all of what the video discussed was presented.

On another note, how did they manage to get video of a harbor seal/sea lion school? Talk about an epic dive.

Who offers the Reef Check classes? I'd like to learn more about the local marine life. I was trained to conduct reef surveys in Australia but don't know jack about the local species.

 

[rdjiv]

Reef Check California

Reef Check California Training Schedule

Its put on by the Reef Check California organization, a local subset of the larger Reef Check non-profit. Here are the websites for Reef Check CA and the training sign-up page. Looks like a good amount of the class dates are still open. I found it to be a rewarding class both for the chance to dive but also finally learn about the organisms you routinely see while on the bottom.