Rapidly growing turf algae are effectively waging chemical warfare on kelp forests in the Gulf of Maine, according to a new study from researchers at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences and the University of Maine.
Lead author Shane Farrell said the algae have proliferated due to warming waters, and are releasing chemicals that make it harder for kelp to survive.
"These findings represent a significant jump in kelp forest ecology, especially regarding these chemical mediated interactions, or, how we put it, chemical warfare, which was previously unrecognized in kelp forest systems," he said.
Farrell said losing those kelp forests threatens a linchpin of the marine ecosystem.
"They're much like coral reefs or rainforests, you know, they provide habitat, food and refuge for a variety of species, making them biodiversity hotspots," he said.
Farrell said kelp faces threats from both native and non-native algae, and that he and his colleagues will next try to determine if these dynamics are playing out in other parts of the ocean beyond the Gulf of Maine.
