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. When ...

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 ...

Struggling kelp forests like those along the California coast show why 'out of sight, out of mind' is not good climate change ...

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, ...

“Kelp is a community resource enjoyed by many, and it will take all of us to understand and protect it for future generations ...

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 ...

When sea otters were reintroduced along the coastlines of islands in Southern California and British Columbia, researchers saw kelp forests return to areas that were destroyed by sea urchins. But how ...

Parts of the warming Gulf of Maine have become inhospitable for kelp forests, according to new research from the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in East Boothbay. Between 2001 and 2018, a team ...

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 ...

While kelp forests persist along northern Maine’s rocky coast, kelp abundance has declined by as much as 80% on the southern coast in recent decades. In its stead, carpet-like turf algae have moved in ...

The Santa Barbara Channel’s kelp forests and its sandy beaches are intimately connected. Giant kelp, the foundation species of rocky reefs, serves as a major part of the beach food web as fronds of ...