You are here:
BBC >
Science & Nature >
Animals >
Sea Life >
Blue Planet Challenge
|
|
|
|
Kelps (Laminaria spp.) are an important part of the marine community around British shores. These amber coloured fronds can reach several metres in length and go by a number of names (oar weed, tangle, cuvie, sugar kelp, sea belt and poor man’s weather glass).
There are three common species of kelp around the UK. Sugar kelp (Laminaria saccharina) and tangle kelp or oarweed (Laminaria digitata) can be seen on rocky shorelines at low tide, whereas the dominant species which makes up most of the kelp forest (Laminaria hyperborea) only grows below the low-water mark. It doesn’t have a common name.
Kelp is found in shallow waters around the British coastline where there is sufficient rocky substrate for attachment. Unlike most kelps, sugar kelp can live on small rocks and pebbles rather than needing larger rocky structures. Even this kelp isn’t found around the coasts of East Anglia and south-east England where the sea floor is sandy. Dense kelp forests are found where the wave action is moderate. In the more turbulent seas closer to the shore, kelps are more widely separated.
As kelp needs energy from sunlight to manufacture food, it must grow where enough sunlight penetrates. Since the amount of sunlight in the sea decreases with depth, the length of the kelp depends on where it is growing. In south-west Britain, where the waters are clear, kelp may grow in water up to 30m deep. In murky areas such as the Menai Straits, it only reaches a depth of 2-3m.
Different kelp habitats support different kelp communities. Around the UK, a number of species inhabit the forests, including hydroids, bryozoans and sea anemones. Sea urchins and limpets graze the kelp. The sea urchin (Echinus esculentus) that’s found around Scottish coasts shares its home with few other creatures except barnacles and tube worms. Sea urchins can be a threat to the kelp here as elsewhere in the world.
In places where current systems distribute nutrients and there is a wider diversity of species. Brittlestars, sea stars, sea anemones, sponges, sea squirts, spider crabs and dulse (Palmaria palmata - a common red seaweed) are all found in UK kelp beds. Fish such as pollack, saithe and wrasse like to hunt near kelp forests.
|
|
|
