Julia Baum1,2, Lauren Dykman1,2, Brian Timmer1,2, Clay Steell2, Jasmin Schuster2, Sam Starko1,3, Christopher Neufeld4, Sean Rogers5,2
1University of Victoria, Canada - 2Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre, Canada - 3University of Western Australia, Australia - 4LGL Consulting - 5Calgary University, Canada
Climate change driven marine heatwaves coupled with local biotic stressors are placing kelp forest ecosystems under increasing pressure, necessitating active population monitoring and restoration efforts. In the Northeast Pacific, our assessment suggests that canopy-forming kelps (giant kelp Macrocystis sp.and bull kelp Nereocystis luetkeana) have declined considerably along some parts of British Columbia’s extensive coastline, with variable changes elsewhere. Our two complementary focal studies in southern B.C. illustrate the importance of microclimates for kelp population outcomes and of historical data to assess long-term change. Concerned with kelp forest losses in southern B.C., the Kelp Rescue Initiative (KRI) launched in 2021 at the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre (BMSC), a non-profit on Vancouver Island, with the mission of developing evidence-based best practices for effective and scalable kelp restoration. Here, we overview our progress over KRI’s first three years, including results from two controlled, manipulative experiments. In our reciprocal transplant experiment using giant kelp in Barkley Sound, we found no evidence of local adaptation to support kelp sourced from sites with a recent history of heat stress, while our common garden experiment in the Salish Sea – a warmer region where kelp has declined substantially – identified population specific differences in stipe and blade growth during the warmest summer period. Tests of outplanting approaches (e.g., green gravel, seeded tiles, cobble) also revealed differential kelp survival. KRI continues to work to improve kelp restoration techniques to contribute to meeting the unprecedented challenges now facing these critical ecosystems.
Biography
Julia Baum holds the Faculty of Science President’s Chair at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada where she is also Professor of Ocean Ecology and Global Change in the Department of Biology, a Provost’s Engaged Scholar, and the Director of Coastal Climate Solutions Leaders, a transdisciplinary graduate training program. Her research group works to advance understanding of the impacts of climate change in the ocean, and to inform and catalyze climate solutions.