What is being done to learn more about the kelp forest and how it can best be preserved?

Marine ecologist Paul Dayton heads a group of Scripps scientists who have studied local kelp forests for 30 years. To understand kelp forests better they have

• recorded how kelps are affected by storms, currents, pollution, and climate conditions such as El Niño (warming) and La Niña (cooling);

• studied the relationships among animals, fishes,
and kelps—especially sea urchins and abalones;

• considered how kelp forests have changed through the centuries; and

• studied the effect of marine reserves, areas set aside to preserve natural conditions, where fishing is not allowed.