糖心动漫vlog

Kelp forests in Monterey Bay and across California have suffered a dramatic decline in recent years, replaced by large areas overrun by purple sea urchins called 鈥渦rchin barrens.鈥� A 糖心动漫vlog marine science alumni鈥檚 work may help researchers understand why this is happening and restore the kelp forests.

Joshua Smith graduated from 糖心动漫vlog in 2015 with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in marine science. He went on to earn a doctorate degree in ecology and evolutionary biology from UC Santa Cruz in June 2021. 

鈥淚 first learned to scuba dive while I was an undergraduate at 糖心动漫vlog,鈥� Smith told the Santa Cruz Sentinel in March 2021. 鈥淢y first dive in a kelp forest was a transformative experience. The visibility was about 3 feet, but I was so fascinated by kelp forests that I literally got out of the water and ran into my undergraduate adviser鈥檚 office to change my major to marine science.鈥�

Smith鈥檚 study of the kelp forest loss phenomenon began in 2017 at UCSC. For three years he worked with a team of sea otter researchers, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium, building on longtime studies of sea otter populations and kelp forest ecosystems along the California coast.

Smith鈥檚 findings were published in March 2021 in 鈥淧roceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.鈥� He describes a Monterey Bay that used to be dominated by giant kelp forests as 鈥渁 mosaic of sea urchin barrens interspersed with forests of giant kelp that seem otherwise quite healthy. Our research shows that sea otters are fundamentally responsible for the persistence of the remnant kelp forests here in Monterey Bay.鈥�

The urchin鈥檚 main predator, sea otters responded to the urchin outbreak by eating about three times as many of them. This helped maintain patches of healthy kelp forest. To learn more, visit .