Atlas8 min read
Anacapa Island: Kelp Forests in the Shadow of the Mainland
Anacapa is the nearest of the Channel Islands — an hour from Ventura, a world away underwater. Its kelp beds, conservation wins and how to dive them.
Tom Okafor ·
#channel-islands
8 articles
Atlas11 min read
The Channel Islands (UK): Kelp at the Warm Edge of the English Range
Jersey, Guernsey, Sark and Alderney: Europe's wildest tidal range, the ormer fishery, the ancient vraic harvest and Britain's southernmost — and warmest — kelp reefs.
Tom Okafor ·
Encyclopedia8 min read
Spanish Shawl (Flabellinopsis iodinea): The Kelp Forest's Flame
The Spanish shawl Flabellinopsis iodinea is a purple-and-orange aeolid nudibranch that steals stinging cells from hydroids. Identification, diet, habitat.
Dr. Mara Ellison ·
Encyclopedia8 min read
Bluebanded Goby (Lythrypnus dalli): Species Profile
The bluebanded goby is a thumb-length fish in neon red and electric blue, and it can change sex both ways. Meet California's most dazzling reef resident.
Dr. Mara Ellison ·
Encyclopedia8 min read
California Sea Lion (Zalophus californianus): Species Profile
California sea lions are the kelp coast's most boisterous residents — acrobatic, intelligent and climate-sensitive. Ecology, biology and the Channel Islands nursery.
Dr. Mara Ellison ·
Encyclopedia7 min read
Garibaldi (Hypsypops rubicundus): Species Profile
Meet the garibaldi, California's blazing orange state marine fish — a fiercely territorial damselfish that gardens algae on the kelp forest floor.
Dr. Theo Nakamura ·
Atlas8 min read
The Channel Islands: California's Kelp Forest Crown Jewels
Where cold northern and warm southern currents collide, the Channel Islands grow California's grandest kelp forests — protected by national park and marine reserves.
Sofia Andersson ·
Encyclopedia7 min read
Elk Kelp (Pelagophycus porra): Species Profile
Elk kelp grows deep, in clear water, with a single antlered float the size of a grapefruit. The deep edge kelp of the Channel Islands and Baja — biology and status.
Dr. Theo Nakamura ·