Whidbey volunteers monitor bull kelp, a key 'ecosystem engineer'

Beyond tall cliffs and Whidbey’s southernmost beach lies a 90-acre underwater forest wrapping around almost the entirety of Possession Point. Rows and rows of bull kelp filter the morning light through the water, a shadowy maze for the animals dwelling within.

At the surface, Island County bull kelp monitoring project lead Carter Webb guides his team around the forest’s perimeter, kelp blades tickling the base of the kayaks. It’s early, and Webb is collecting data for depth, temperature and size of the forest to see how it’s changed from last year and how that has impacted the countless animals relying on kelp — a list humans are at the top of.

Volunteers with the Island County Marine Resources Committee’s kelp monitoring program, overseen by the Northwest Straits Commission and supported by the Department of Natural Resources, have circled the island this summer to assess the state of Whidbey’s kelp for a broader project across the Salish Sea.

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Bull kelp is an annual seaweed, growing from a spore to maturity in a single year. It can reach up to 100 feet tall at a rate of 10 inches per day. Of the 17 species of kelp in the Salish Sea, bull kelp is the only one that provides canopy. It can serve as a refuge from changing environmental pressures and a rest from predators for juvenile animals. Fisheries rely on kelp and seagrass for these reasons.

https://www.heraldnet.com/news/whidbey-volunteers-monitor-bull-kelp-a-key-ecosystem-engineer/