kelp forest
Underwater algae jungle
A kelp forest is an underwater ecosystem dominated by large brown seaweeds called kelp, which can grow over a hundred feet tall and form dense canopies like terrestrial forests.
These environments support extraordinary biodiversity—fish, invertebrates, and marine mammals shelter and feed among the fronds.
Kelp forests thrive in cold, nutrient-rich coastal waters: Sea otters are keystone species in Pacific kelp forests.
- sea ottersAquatic weasel relatives
- sea urchinSpiny marine echinoderm
- seaweedSaltwater aquatic plants
- algaePrimitive aquatic photosynthesizers
- tide poolWave-stranded water hollow
intertidal zone · holdfast · estuary · subtidal · fronds · salt marsh · food web · carbon sequestration · canopy · aquatic · fish · understory · continental shelf · submerged · scuba diving · diving · murky · marine biology
- ocean lifeocean, sea, sea creatures, shark, sea life
- ocean thingsocean, wave, dolphin, whale, fish
- underwaterunderwater, submerged, immersed, sea bed, seabed
- ecosystemsrainforest, desert, jungle, ocean, lake
- animal realmsocean, jungle, desert, savanna, tundra
- aquariumdolphin, penguin, fish tank, ray, octopus
kelp forestcoral reef
Calcium carbonate marine ecosystem
tropical reef · open ocean · deep sea floor · sandy bottom · hydrothermal vent
forest, forests, forestall, kelp, forestalling, kelpie, forestalled, kelps, kelpies