Between the tides: Intertidal kelp forests of northeast England

Heather Sugden¹, Hannah Earp²

¹Newcastle University, UK - ²Havforskningsinstituttet, Norway

Kelp are foundation species that create structurally diverse biogenic habitats along temperate coastlines. These habitats provide an array of microhabitats that support rich macrofloral and macrofaunal assemblages. Baseline data on the structure of kelp forests and their associated assemblages is essential for detecting change and informing effective management and restoration, especially in the context of climate change and increasing anthropogenic pressures. In the United Kingdom (UK), research has tended to focus on subtidal kelp forests, particularly those along northern and western coastlines, meaning there is a notable gap in our understanding of the UK’s intertidal kelp forests, and those along the eastern coast. Using trained citizen scientists, we characterised the structure of intertidal kelp forests and investigated the communities associated with Laminaria digitata and Laminaria hyperborea microhabitats (i.e. holdfast, stipe and blade) at eight sites along the north-east coast of the UK. We found that the structure of kelp forests (i.e. length and age) was comparable across sites and kelp species, but that L. digitata and L. hyperborea were dominant, while Saccharina latissima and Alaria esculenta occurred in lower abundances. Assemblages associated with L. digitata and L. hyperborea microhabitats were diverse and abundant, but there was significant variation in their composition across microhabitats and between kelp species. Collectively, this work highlights the importance of intertidal kelp forests as repositories of biodiversity and provides a comprehensive baseline upon which to monitor future change. While the inclusion of trained citizen scientists demonstrates the value of community participation in increasing the scope of research efforts.