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The Biology and Ecology of Giant Kelp Forests

Online ISBN:
9780520961098
Print ISBN:
9780520278868
Publisher:
University of California Press
Book

The Biology and Ecology of Giant Kelp Forests

David R. Schiel,
David R. Schiel
University of Canterbury, New Zealand
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Michael S. Foster
Michael S. Foster
San Jose State University
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Published:
1 May 2015
Online ISBN:
9780520961098
Print ISBN:
9780520278868
Publisher:
University of California Press

Abstract

The largest seaweed, giant kelp (Macrocystis) is the fastest growing and most prolific of all plants found on earth. Growing from the seafloor and extending along the ocean surface in lush canopies, giant kelp provides an extensive vertical habitat in a largely two-dimensional seascape. It is the foundation for one of the most species-rich, productive, and widely distributed ecological communities in the world. This review takes the reader from Darwin's early observations to contemporary research, providing a historical perspective for the modern understanding of giant kelp evolution, biogeography, biology, and physiology. The chapters furnish a discussion of kelp species and forest ecology worldwide, with considerations of human uses and abuses, management and conservation, and the current and likely future impacts of global change.

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