Introduction

Hidden deep in the kelp beds of California are a series of uncharted Macrocystis pyrfiera canopies; which numerous fish and invertebrates call their home. The Nature Conservancy along side of UC Santa Cruz has begun a three year long study to assess kelp canopy habitat; ellucidate the role canopy in harboring coastal diversity in California.

The rugged adventures take them into kelp forests along the central coast of California. Research sites are situated in the rocky subtidal reefs of Cambria, San Simeon and Big Sur. Begining mid-summer 2005 our team worked together with kelp harvesters and consortium of reseachers for a common goal, to understand and better manage one of the last great place in the marine realm.

The Nature Conservancy has launched a three year long biological expedition to the kelp forests of the Central Coast in California to discover and document the nursery role the kelp canopies provide for recruiting fish and invertebrates.

Read the exciting accounts from Kendra Karr, and Mike Beck Nature Conservancy scientist, as they travel throughout some of the most productive kelp forests in California.

An Expedition into Kelp Forests

• Week 1 : Enter the Food Chain
  July 31, 2005
  Our intrepid explorers have joined a team of four for their journey to determine the potential nursery role of Macrosystis kelp canopy.
• Week 3 : Off the Map
  August 12-15, 2005
  Our team has gone ahead and reshaped the standards for conservation and ecological studies. Over these three days our team conducted extensize surveys to categorize the kelp beds.
• Week 5 : A Sack Full of Fish
  August 31- September 1,, 2005
  Two weeks after the first harvest, our team conducts several surveys on rockfish abundaces within the treatment and experimental sites.
• Week 7 : Time for a Check Up
  September 13, 2005
  One month after the harvest, surveys continue to assess the impact of canopy loss on recruiting juvenile rockfish and invertebrate biodiversity.

• Week 9 : A new beginning
  September 14-15, 2005
  Our team has begun assessing a new region of the central California coastline, Big Sur.

• Week 11 : It Just Keeps Going
  Setember 28-29, 2005
  Two weeks after the intial harvest in Big Sur

• Week 13: Back in the Kelp Again
  October , 2005
  One month after the intial harvest in Big Sur