nathm055
Registered
FWIW, in La Jolla we have seen dramatic changes as well: when I arrived in 2013, LJ Cove featured a very thick kelp forest; thick enough to get tangled in, darken the sky etc etc, and easily seen from the surface. Total collapse in 2015-2016, loss of 100% of the surface cover. Saw an increase in urchins/disappearance of starfish at the time but perhaps not to the degree of urchin barrens you're seeing in Norcal. The kelp forest has somewhat recovered since then. Reports are that the kelp is "back" (I haven't been recently), but nowhere near the density in 2013 and previous. This year the water has been very cold at depth (47-52 deg), which has contributed to the growback. There is still no real surface cover to speak of.
Less concerned about urchins/starfish as that appears to be part of documented cycle, much more concerned about sargassum hornerii, which has destroyed much of parts of the Channel Islands kelp forests, particularly Catalina. If that takes hold on the mainland of SoCal it might be a catastrophic regime change.
Less concerned about urchins/starfish as that appears to be part of documented cycle, much more concerned about sargassum hornerii, which has destroyed much of parts of the Channel Islands kelp forests, particularly Catalina. If that takes hold on the mainland of SoCal it might be a catastrophic regime change.
