BELLINGHAM A marine snail on the brink of extinction is getting help from Whatcom researchers and the Lummi Nation as Washington expands restoration efforts for the pinto abalone.
In Central California, Sea Otters Feast on Purple Urchins And That s Good for Kelp kqed.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from kqed.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Scientists warn that swift action is needed to revive the kelp forests that have faced destruction by extreme weather events and a hungry sea urchin population.
Bull kelp (seen here at Pescadero Point) is the dominant species of canopy-forming kelp in Northern California. (Credit: Steve Lonhart/NOAA, MBNMS)
(CN) Northern California’s kelp forests have weathered many harsh conditions in the past, but the recent loss of a keystone species has led to a sharp 95% decline that scientists warn will be vastly difficult to come back from.
Details of the study were published Friday in the journal Communications Biology, where researchers from the University of California, Santa Cruz detail the disappearance of the kelp forests and propose swift action to return them to their full health.