Journal #1

I've noticed when visiting the beaches in Santa Barbara that the green algae, especially the giant kelp, that wash up onto the shore are always thriving with communities of flies and other organisms such as amphipods, isopods, and copepods. Amphipods and isopods eat dead and decaying algae and seaweed as well as other plants and animals. In the scientific article on the "Spacial Synchrony of Amphipods in Giant Kelp Forests", the spatially complex and dynamic nature of giant kelp forests were assessed to provide some insight into the interactions between the two species. It was found that amphipods are important prey resources for the fishes that frequent kelp forests, effecting the distribution of predators, and the excretion by amphipods act as a source of nitrogen to help giant kelp during periods where their nitrogen levels are limited.

Works Cited

Morton, Dana N., Tom W. Bell, and Todd W. Anderson. "Spatial Synchrony of Amphipods in Giant Kelp Forests." Marine Biology, vol. 163, no. 2, 2016, pp. 1-11, ProQuest Central, https://login.ezp.pasadena.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1757872722?accountid=28371, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00227-015-2807-5.

Publicado el 09 de diciembre de 2017 a las 08:33 AM por adnilem