Lacking natural predators and able to survive long after food sources are diminished, purple sea urchins are devastating kelp forests, an important carbon sink. The founders of a Newport startup have ...

Adorably fuzzy sea otters aren’t just cute. The marine mammals serve a crucial role, helping to restore the giant kelp forests they rely on by removing their top predators, the sea urchins. Kelp ...

The kelp forest is ephemeral, yet foundational. Fronds of this fast-growing giant seaweed come and go with the seasons, storms and waves, supporting communities of fish, invertebrates and even mammals ...

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, ...

With their roly-poly bodies, child-like eyes, long whiskers and tiny padded paws, otters are some of the most charismatic animals in nature. But while being cute doesn't serve much purpose in the wild ...

The nearshore rocky reefs of the Santa Barbara Channel are dynamic places, with populations of fish, mollusks, algae and other assorted sea life shifting in response to currents, storms and a variety ...

In a new study, scientists said that the extinct Steller’s sea cow impacted kelp forests in the North Pacific by browsing at the surface, which would have encouraged the growth and strengthening of ...

This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated. One of the ocean’s greatest supporters of ...

A new study uncovers a symphony of synchrony between the kelp forest and beach, with broader implications for the beach food web as the climate changes. The Santa Barbara Channel's kelp forests and ...

A new study of kelp fossils from the coast of Washington state show that kelp forests, which host all manner of marine life, developed tens of... New fossils suggest kelp forests have swayed in the ...

Kelp forests provide a crucial food source and habitat for marine species, helping to support coastal biodiversity as well as the state’s fishing and tourism industries. But along some parts of the ...