Rising sea temperatures have already wiped out 100 kilometres of kelp forest along the south coast of Western Australia – and this unprecedented loss looks set to worsen. 2016 Help the kelp. Kelp is a type of seaweed (or marine algae) that describes 27 genera worldwide. Soon starfish began dying en masse from a mysterious illness that scientists believe is linked to the warming waters.. Purple sea urchins, ordinarily a prey of starfish, took advantage of the warm and safer waters to move into massive forests of kelp. Though annually variable, in the past five years, California’s kelp forests have decreased by 93% of normal. California’s Vanishing Kelp Forests Aerial surveys of Northern California’s kelp forests show the extent of the kelp's decline before and after a marine heat wave. Tens of millions of voracious purple sea urchins that have already chomped their way through towering underwater kelp forests in California are spreading north to … Northern California's undersea kelp forests decimated by purple sea urchins About 90 percent of the bull kelp forests, home to fish, crustaceans and … Higher sea surface temperatures in recent years have limited kelp growth, and sea star wasting disease has removed a key predator of purple sea urchins, a veracious eater of kelp. The red abalone is dying off as its food source—the California kelp forests—are decimated. More than 90 percent of bull kelp and 96 percent of red abalone were lost along 217 miles of northern California coastline within just a few years. But as reported in Oceans Deeply they are not. Some kelps form dense patches on rocky reefs resembling a forest of trees underwater and are referred to as kelp forests. Editor's note: This article was updated on April 22, 2020, to correct information about the entity that released a kelp recovery plan. Experts fear the die-off may be a sign of what’s to come. Today, our kelp forests are in serious trouble. The 2014 marine heat wave brought the highest temperatures ever recorded in the area. Urchin Barrens! One third of southern California’s kelp forests are found within Channel Islands National Park and Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. The cause, sea stars, actually, the absence of sea stars. Amazingly, in under five years the kelp forests off the coast of Northern California have diminished by over 90%. More than 90% of bull kelp and 96% of red abalone were lost along 217 miles of northern California coastline within just a few years. Kelp forests grows quickly, up to 2 feet per day, have existed for tens of thousands of years and seem invincible. 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