A picturesque study system—notes from the SBC LTER
Whenever I jump into the blue-green surface waters and descend towards the bottom, I am reminded of the powerful, yet serene beauty of kelp forests.
Sea urchins mothers can help their offspring withstand marine heatwaves
Purple sea urchin embryos whose mothers were exposed to heatwaves have greater tolerance to high temperatures, suggesting a pathway to resilience for this keystone species in kelp forests.
Nature-based dune restoration makes winners of us all
A six-year pilot study on Santa Monica Beach shows how seeding of native flora can restore habitats for threatened species and protect against climate change-driven sea level rise.
Santa Barbara Coastal LTER: Biodiversity and marine heatwaves in the kelp forest ecosystem.
RET projects at the Santa Barbara Coastal LTER site will focus on marine heatwaves, a research focus that connects to the impact of climate change on important ecosystems. Marine heatwaves (MHWs) – defined as prolonged periods of unusually high seawater temperatures – have emerged as disruptive forces in the kelp forest, threatening marine biodiversity and… Read more »
It’s not a trap: California MPAs lead to more lobster catches over time
Researchers at the SBC LTER show that lobster spillover from MPAs caused a 400% increase in lobster abundance outside of protected areas.
Climate change makes kelp less nutritious
For Southern California reefs and beaches, giant kelp fuels the food web and creates an environment in which biodiversity booms. But the nutritional quality of kelp is lower than it once was, a new study from the Santa Barbara Coastal LTER shows. The culprit? Climate change and warming ocean water, coauthors Dr. Heili Lowman and Kyle Emery find.
Coordination is everything: Species richness synchrony predicts ecosystem stability across ecosystems
The LTER Synchrony Synthesis group links richness synchrony to ecosystem stability in a new study, showing synchrony is a key control on ecosystem functions.
Databits: LTER Site Bytes 2020 Coastal Edition
Each year, the LTER Information Management (IM) committee gathers updates from sites across the network related to IM system and personnel changes over the past year, compiling them into a series of ‘Site Bytes’, or site summaries. This November, the first 2020 Site Bytes that started rolling into the editors’ (virtual) office were all from… Read more »
When it Rains, it’s Gonna Pour
Fires and floods are becoming all too common for coastal Southern California residents — but are these ‘extreme’ events likely to become even more frequent? Answering this question requires a comprehensive understanding of precipitation patterns in the region and how they are likely to change in the coming decades. Most previous research on climate change… Read more »
The Devil’s in the Details for Kelp Forest Biodiversity
Kelp forests have long been known to harbor a high number and diversity of marine species, from tiny crustaceans to large fish and marine mammals. This biodiversity tends to be attributed to the complex structure and productivity of giant kelp, earning it the title ‘foundational species’. Surprisingly, however, little quantitative data has been assessed to… Read more »
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