Hannah Scarlett Earp1, Karen Filbee-Dexter1,2, Tone Kroglund1, Antoine Minne1,2, Kjell Magnus Norderhaug1, Thomas Wernberg1,2
1Institute of Marine Science, Norway - 2University of Western Australia, Australia
Kelp forests are among the most diverse and productive ecosystems on Earth, and they dominate Norway’s coastal waters. Despite their ecological and social-economic importance, kelp forests are increasingly experiencing degradation and decline due to interacting stressors (e.g. climate change and human activities). Sea urchin overgrazing has caused extensive losses of Laminaria hyperborea in northern Norway, while ocean warming, marine heatwaves (MHWs), and coastal darkening have driven Saccharina latissima declines in the south. Kelp forests in central Norway are thriving, and northern areas have seen some recovery due to the expansion of urchin predators. Spanning a latitudinal gradient from the Arctic Barents Sea to the temperate North Sea (from 58-71°N), the Norwegian coastline captures the warm and cool range limits of Norwegian kelp species and offers a unique natural laboratory for studying the combined effects of climate change and human activities on kelp forests. The GEcoKelp project will use field and laboratory approaches to gain a comprehensive insight into the effects of environmental change, particularly ocean warming, MHWs, and coastal darkening on Norwegian kelp forests from the genomic to ecosystem level. The first step is a synthesis of Norwegian kelp research to identify trends, knowledge gaps and future priorities. This will be complimented by field research along the entire Norwegian coast to characterize kelp forests ecosystems and assess resilience to simulated disturbance. Aquarium experiments will evaluate the resilience of kelp forests and their associated communities to MHW scenarios and coastal darkening events. Collectively the findings will provide vital insights into the resilience of Norwegian kelp forests ecosystems to predicted environmental change, enabling science-based management and paving the way for a sustainable future.
Biography
Hannah is a postdoctoral researcher at the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research. Her research investigates the impact of climate change and anthropogenic pressures on the structure and resilience of marine forests and their associated biodiversity using a combination of field and laboratory techniques. She is also actively involved in kelp restoration research. Her background includes research on opportunistic macroalgal blooms, ecological engineering and marine citizen science.