Harry Teagle

TL;DR: Biodiversity patterns associated with kelp holdfasts, stipes and blades are examined, as well as the wider understorey habitat, and generality between kelp species and biogeographic regions are searched for.

TL;DR: The upper layers of the ocean have warmed by 0.11°C per decade since the mid 20th century (IPCC, 2013) and are now on average more acidic and less oxygenated and have altered salinity and wave regimes as mentioned in this paper.

TL;DR: The results suggest that a shift towards U. pinnatifida dominated reefs could result in impoverished epibiotic assemblages and lower local biodiversity, although this could be offset, to some extent, by the climate-driven proliferation of L. ochroleuca at the poleward range edge, which provides complex biogenic habitat and harbours relatively high biodiversity.

TL;DR: Overall, kelp holdfasts in the UK supported high levels of diversity, that were similar to other kelp-dominated systems globally and comparable to those recorded for other vegetated marine habitats (i.e. seagrass beds), which are perhaps more widely recognised for their high biodiversity value.

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the wider impacts of climate-driven shifts in the relative abundances of foundation species within a temperate reef system, with particular focus on a habitat cascade whereby kelp facilitate epiphytic algae that, in turn, facilitate mobile invertebrates.