The History of Kelp Forests: Global and Local Surprises

Kelp forests are found throughout the world; however, their histories in the northern and southern hemispheres are dramatically different - from the timing of their formation to the origin of the key species that inhabit them. For example, in the North Pacific, the sea otter is the youngest component in the forests and the spiny lobsters the oldest. Kelp forests in the North Atlantic show patterns similar to the North Pacific, probably due to the role of recent migration of numerous kelp forest species from the North Pacific into the Atlantic. In addition to deep time differences, humans have differentially affected kelp forests. Constructing the story of kelp forests from paleontological, archaeological, and historical sources all demonstrate that kelp forest ecosystems are highly dynamic systems, and understanding their modern ecology is difficult, if not impossible, without a diversity of perspectives.

Speaker: David R. Lindberg, UC Berkeley