Presentation Abstract
British Columbia has the richest kelp flora in the world. This reflects the overlap of two distinct kelp floras—Northern and Southern—within the latitudes of Vancouver Island. Further, the British Columbia kelp flora is divided into Salish Sea and outer coast assemblages. This is thought to be driven by temperature/salinity regimes. The Salish Sea protists are subjected to low summer salinities, resulting from snow runoff, and the outer coasters experience low salinities, resulting winter rains. Incomplete surveys indicate a changing kelp flora, perhaps driven by ocean warming: for example, Egregia, of southern origin seems to be replacing Alaria, a northern species. Kelp productivity drives the near-shore food chains and may have been instrumental in the colonization of the Americas, by means of the Kelp Highway.
Session Title
Session S-02E: Kelp Trends
Conference Track
Habitat
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2014 : Seattle, Wash.)
Document Type
Event
Start Date
30-4-2014 1:30 PM
End Date
30-4-2014 3:00 PM
Location
Room 613-614
Genre/Form
conference proceedings; presentations (communicative events)
Contributing Repository
Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Kelp bed ecology--British Columbia; Kelp--British Columbia
Geographic Coverage
Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); British Columbia
Rights
This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Type
Text
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
Included in
The Kelp of British Columbia and their Environment
Room 613-614
British Columbia has the richest kelp flora in the world. This reflects the overlap of two distinct kelp floras—Northern and Southern—within the latitudes of Vancouver Island. Further, the British Columbia kelp flora is divided into Salish Sea and outer coast assemblages. This is thought to be driven by temperature/salinity regimes. The Salish Sea protists are subjected to low summer salinities, resulting from snow runoff, and the outer coasters experience low salinities, resulting winter rains. Incomplete surveys indicate a changing kelp flora, perhaps driven by ocean warming: for example, Egregia, of southern origin seems to be replacing Alaria, a northern species. Kelp productivity drives the near-shore food chains and may have been instrumental in the colonization of the Americas, by means of the Kelp Highway.
