blade

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leaf-like structure on the giant kelp plant

 frond

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part of the kelp plant above the holdfast

 stipe

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stem-like structure on the giant kelp

 pneumatocyst

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air bladder (contains nitrogen, oxygen, &  carbon monoxide gases). The air bladder is what provides most of the buoyancy for the kelp plant. There are so many fronds that without air bladders the giant kelp plant would not float up in the water.

 holdfast

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root-like structure of the giant kelp

 haptera

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finger-like projections that help the holdfast
attach to a rock

 substrate

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the bottom of the ocean

 spores

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tiny microscopic cells that are released from
sporophyll blades close to the bottom of the
kelp frond. These cells are fertilized become
baby kelp plants.

 sporophylls

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special blades on the bottom of the kelp above
the holdfast that produce spores

 upwelling

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movement of ocean water from the bottom of the
ocean to the surface that carry nutrients to
shallower water

 nitrates &  phosphates

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chemicals contained in decomposing bottom
material that enrich the water at shallower depths
through upwelling

 photosynthesis

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process by which plants take in sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water to produce sugars and oxygen
CO₂ + H₂O + sunlight => C₆H₁₂O₆ + O₂

 translocation

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the movement of photosynthesis nutrients to
parts of the kelp plant that are shaded. This
allows the kelp plant to continue growing
even when it is nighttime.

Macrocystis Pyrifera

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Latin name for giant kelp

 growth rate of giant kelp

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12 to 18 inches a day during summer &  fall

 phylum phaeophyta

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phylum name for brown algae.
Macrocystis Pyrifera (giant kelp)
is a type of brown algae.

 drift kelp

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kelp that has been torn off its holdfast and is
drifting at the surface. Under the right conditions,
it can reattach itself to the ocean substrate.

apex

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the tip (or end) of the kelp blade

 detritus

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dead plant material

 Charles Darwin

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naturalist who was a passenger aboard the sailing ship Beagle. He wrote "On the Origin of Species" and is the founder of the theory of evolution. Charles Darwin, even back in 1890, knew that kelp forests were habitats that were as rich and diverse as terrestial forests.

 Kelp forests as a
nursery (5 ways)

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slows down water movement, provides shade,
provides anchors for other organisms to attach
themselves to, provides food, provides spaces
between kelp fronds

 food web

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a diagram showing producers and
consumers, preditors and prey in an
ecosystem. In other words it shows the
various 'who eats who' combinations.

herbivore

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a plant eater

 sea urchin barrens

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the result of too many of a certain type of echinoderms in an area that formerly contained a kelp forest. So, too many  =  no more kelp forest (these echinoderms consume the kelp fronds and  eat away at the holdfast)

gastropods

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molluscs (soft-bodied creatures) that have a
single exterior shell (sea snails, conchs, welks,
cone shells). Some do NOT have an external
shell! (Examples: octopus, cuttlefish,
nudibranchs, sea hare)

 carnivore

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an animal that eats other animals

predator

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an animal that is a hunter and seeks out
and eats other animals

 prey

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    an animal that becomes food for another animal

 echinoderms

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animals that have a warty appearance, move
through the use of tube feet, and have their
mouths on the underside of their bodies.
(examples: sea urchin, sea star, feather star,
sea cucumber)

 molluscs

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soft-bodied animals that have an external shell
(although sea hares, cuttlefish, and octopus
are also members of this phylum but do not
have shells)

 canopy

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the top of the kelp forest where blades rest on
the surface of the water

 mid-story

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the middle section of the kelp forest between
the holdfast and the canopy

 4 habitats in a kelp forest

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canopy, mid-story, holdfast, and ocean floor

 list 5 CANOPY species

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Kelp  forest habitat:  Isopods, sea stars, sea urchins, bryozona, wrasses, bridled leatherjacket, butterfly perch, weedy sea dragon

 list 5 MID-STORY species

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Kelp  forest habitat:  octopus, cuttlefish, seahorses, fish, jellyfish, crustaceans, fish larvae, nudibranchs

 list 5 HOLDFAST species

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Kelp  forest habitat:  isopods, amphipods, crabs, sea urchins, polychaetes (worms), eels, hydroids, bryozoans, molluscs, sponges

 list 5 SEA FLOOR species

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Kelp  forest habitat:  sea urchins, sponges, tunicates, anemones, coralline algae, feather stars, sea cucumbers, abalone, blackfish, sea stars, spiny lobster, snapper, striped trumpeter

 5 threats to kelp

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over grazing, over harvesting, water clarity
problems (as with plankton blooms), man-made
pollution, storms

 producer

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usually a plant or plant-like structure that
can use sunlight along with nutrients to
produce sugars and oxygen (In other
words, it makes its own food.)

 consumer

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an organism that eats plants or animals

 keystone species

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a species important to the balance of an
ecosystem -- (example:  sea otters in a kelp forest
who love to eat sea urchins and thus, keep the
population of sea urchins from devouring the
kelp fronds)

 eutrophication

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the process of detritus breaking down, decomposing, or rotting

 suspended sediments

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tiny dirt particles that hover in the water reducing
water clarity and thus blocking out sunlight and
cutting down on photosynthesis

 plankton bloom

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an explosive growth of microscopic plants in the ocean. This rapid growth cuts down on water clarity and reduces photosynthesis.

 algin

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a substance extracted from giant kelp that
is an emulsifier -- it helps substances flow
(as in toothpastes and ice cream)