Galleries : Undying Tales 2021 : UT 14 - Sea Tangle (Kelp Forests)
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Laminaria hyperborea Status:Unsustainable commercial harvesting of the kelp beds is harming the ecosystem, as well as rising ocean temperatures and heatwaves, and invasive other seaweed species like Golden kelp that are taking over territory. Kelp forests are major strongholds for ocean life diversity, shelter, and food. Giant kelp whose range is in warmer waters of the Atlantic and Pacific ocean are now listed as an endangered ecological community. The swaying long fronds of kelp forests are food and shelter for thousands of species of sea life. The ocean floor is protected from erosion and the destructive power of storms. Fish dart about and hide in the towering fronds, and invertebrates live and feed at the base, while aquatic mammals, and seabirds use the thickets to shelter their young from storms and predators, and to hunt for fish. Along the Scottish and Irish coastline at low tides, dense beds of Cuvie, or Sea Tangle hug the sea floor. The blades surge with the ebb and flow in the tide, green-brown and glistening with salt spray. It is not uncommon to see seals diving in those tangled forests, or floating buoyed by the fronds. And perhaps if one looked closer it might not be a seal, but a selkie of Celtic lore, one of the seal-people who live dual lives as a seal when in the water, and shedding their skin to take on human form when they are on land.
Size: 7 x 7 inches Detail closeups:
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