Science8 min read
Drift Kelp and Wrack: The Forest's Gift to the Beach
Kelp forests export a share of everything they grow. Here's how drift kelp feeds open water, beach wrack feeds the shore, and why leaving wrack alone matters.
Dr. Mara Ellison ·
#detritus
4 articles
Encyclopedia9 min read
Giant Red Sea Cucumber: The Forest Floor's Vacuum Cleaner
Apostichopus californicus, the biggest sea cucumber on the Pacific coast, recycles kelp forest sediment from Alaska to California. Biology, defences, fishery.
Dr. Theo Nakamura ·
Science8 min read
Where Kelp Carbon Goes: Detritus, Drift and the Deep Sea
Kelp grows fast and dies young. Follow its carbon from sunlit blade to beach wrack, deep-sea fall and seafloor sediment — the full journey of kelp detritus.
Dr. Lena Fischer ·
Encyclopedia8 min read
Warty Sea Cucumber: The Reef's Recycling System
Apostichopus parvimensis vacuums detritus off California reefs day and night, cycling nutrients for the whole kelp forest. Biology, defences and the fishery.
Dr. Theo Nakamura ·