Earth and Planetary Sciences · Oceanography
A study found that cultivating Pyropia haitanensis improved water quality both where the seaweed grew and in connected aquaculture ponds. It also increased microbial diversity and changed which bacteria and other organisms were most common.
A study of temperate kelp forests along 600 kilometers of Baja California found that reef states after the 2014–2016 marine heatwave supported very different contributions to ecosystems and people. Reefs with persistent canopy-forming kelp generally supported more fish biomass, ecological functions and nutritional supply than simplified reefs.
Researchers found that a sea snail usually considered a subordinate grazer can overgraze localized patches within Tasmanian kelp beds when it becomes unusually abundant. Kelp recovery followed a decline in the snails, while overgrazing persisted where the snails were kept together.
