Encyclopedia8 min read
Acid Kelp (Desmarestia): The Seaweed That Carries Its Own Acid
Acid kelp (Desmarestia) stores battery-strength acid inside its own cells — the strangest chemical defence in the kelp forest.
Dr. Theo Nakamura ·
Kelp & Ocean Encyclopedia
Structured profiles of the species that build, inhabit and depend on kelp forests — from giant kelp to sea otters, urchins to weedy seadragons.
322 articles · Browse the structured Encyclopedia →
Encyclopedia7 min read
California Moray: The Kelp Reef's Patient Ambusher
Meet the California moray eel — a nocturnal, crevice-dwelling ambush predator of Pacific kelp reefs, with pharyngeal jaws and a reputation it doesn't deserve.
Dr. Theo Nakamura ·
Encyclopedia8 min read
Clown Dorid: The Polka-Dotted Grazer of the Kelp Reef
Clown dorid (Triopha catalinae) species profile: identifying the polka-dotted nudibranch, its bryozoan diet, rhinophores and where to find it on kelp reefs.
Dr. Theo Nakamura ·
Encyclopedia8 min read
Common Eider (Somateria mollissima): The Sea Duck of Northern Kelp Coasts
Meet the common eider: the northern sea duck that dives for mussels in the kelp shallows, crushes shells whole and gave its down to a centuries-old harvest.
Dr. Mara Ellison ·
Encyclopedia7 min read
Coralline Sculpin (Artedius corallinus): A Master of Pink Camouflage
Identify the coralline sculpin — the small California reef fish whose pink-and-grey skin lets it vanish against crusts of coralline algae.
Dr. Theo Nakamura ·
Encyclopedia8 min read
Eastern Blue Groper (Achoerodus viridis): Species Profile
Meet the eastern blue groper, the friendly, urchin-crunching giant wrasse of New South Wales reefs — every adult blue male began life as a female.
Dr. Theo Nakamura ·
Encyclopedia7 min read
Feather Boa Kelp (Egregia menziesii): Species Profile
Feather boa kelp streams from Pacific rocks in long, lacy straps, and shelters its own miniature rainforest of life. How to identify, where it grows, what eats it.
Dr. Theo Nakamura ·
Encyclopedia8 min read
Giant Black Sea Bass (Stereolepis gigas): The Reef's Recovered Giant
Protected since 1982, the giant sea bass is easing back into California's kelp reefs. How scientists track the comeback, and what it teaches ocean restoration.
Dr. Elias Brandt ·
Encyclopedia9 min read
Lacuna Kelp Snail: The Blade-Grazing Gardener Nobody Notices
Lacuna vincta, the chink-shell kelp snail, lives its whole life on kelp blades — sometimes a helpful gardener, sometimes a grazer that can riddle a farm.
Dr. Mara Ellison ·
Encyclopedia7 min read
Marbled Murrelet: The Seabird That Nests in Trees
The marbled murrelet feeds in kelp-fringed seas and nests miles inland on old-growth limbs. The ecology of a seabird split between two vanishing worlds.
Dr. Mara Ellison ·
Encyclopedia8 min read
California Market Squid: The Boom-and-Bust Fishery Under the Canopy
California market squid: the boom-and-bust fishery that whitens the seafloor with egg mops and feeds half the coastal food web.
Dr. Mara Ellison ·
Encyclopedia8 min read
Mottled Star (Evasterias troschelii): The Kelp Forest's Opportunist
Evasterias troschelii, the mottled or false ochre star — the soft-bodied, deep-dwelling predator that picks off limpets, whelks and baby sea stars.
Dr. Theo Nakamura ·
Encyclopedia8 min read
New Zealand Fur Seal (Arctocephalus forsteri): Species Profile
Kekeno — the New Zealand fur seal — was hunted nearly to extinction by the early 1800s, then recovered under protection. Ecology, biology and where to see them.
Dr. Mara Ellison ·
Encyclopedia8 min read
Pacific Electric Ray: Fifty Volts in the Kelp Forest's Sand Channels
Tetronarce californica, the Pacific electric ray, carries up to ~50 volts in its wings. Biology, the ambush, and what to do if you meet one on a night dive.
Dr. Mara Ellison ·
Encyclopedia8 min read
East Pacific Red Octopus: The Kelp Forest's Small Strategist
East Pacific red octopus Octopus rubescens: den middens, colour-flash camouflage, egg brooding and night hunting in California's kelp forests.
Dr. Theo Nakamura ·
Encyclopedia6 min read
Rockweed Gunnel: The Fish That Turns Into Rockweed
The rockweed gunnel is a slender Pacific shore fish so perfectly matched to seaweed butter and olive tones that it looks like the rockweed itself.
Dr. Theo Nakamura ·
Encyclopedia7 min read
Spotted Kelpfish (Gibbonsia elegans): A Master of Disguise in the Canopy
Red in red algae, green in surfgrass, spotted all over — the spotted kelpfish rewrites its own wardrobe to match the kelp it hides in. How to know one.
Dr. Theo Nakamura ·
Encyclopedia6 min read
Umbrella Crab: Kelp's Shape-Shifting Hermit of the Canopy
The umbrella crab hides its legs beneath a flared, kelp-coloured carapace, drifting undetected across the holdfasts and rocky floors of Pacific kelp forests.
Dr. Mara Ellison ·
Encyclopedia7 min read
Weedy Seadragon (Phyllopteryx taeniolatus): Species Profile
Australia's weedy seadragon drifts through kelp like fallen seaweed come alive. Discover its camouflage, male egg-brooding, range and conservation.
Dr. Theo Nakamura ·
Encyclopedia8 min read
Blue-Banded Goby: One Inch of Neon Nerve on the Kelp Forest Floor
A diver's deep dive into the blue-banded goby's metre-scale world — colonies, ledges, nests and predators, and how to watch Lythrypnus dalli up close.
Tom Okafor ·
Encyclopedia9 min read
Dulse (Palmaria palmata): Species Profile
Dulse is the red seaweed the North Atlantic has snacked on for a thousand years — protein-rich, bacon-savoury when fried, and stranger in its life cycle than you think.
Sofia Andersson ·
Encyclopedia8 min read
Fish-Eating Anemone: The Velvet Trap Beneath the Kelp
Fish-eating anemone (Urticina piscivora) species profile: the big red anemone that catches fish under the kelp canopy and doubles as sea star prey.
Dr. Mara Ellison ·
Encyclopedia8 min read
Five-Ribbed Kelp (Costaria costata): The Wide Blade of the North Pacific
Five-ribbed kelp (Costaria costata) is the wide, ripple-edged kelp of northeast Pacific reefs — biology, kitchen uses and how it differs from wakame.
Dr. Mara Ellison ·
Encyclopedia8 min read
Kelp Bass (Paralabrax clathratus): Species Profile
Kelp bass — calico bass to the anglers who love them — are the signature sportfish of the kelp canopy. Biology, slow growth, sex change and sustainable fishing.
Dr. Mara Ellison ·