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Field Collection and Laboratory Maintenance of Canopy Forming Giant Kelp to Facilitate Restoration

Published Article

Global

Publication date: June 7, 2024

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Kelp forests are declining globally, prompting interest in the scalable, low‑cost green‑gravel method for restoring giant kelp. This protocol details how to culture, seed, and monitor young kelp in lab and field settings, providing a standardized resource to advance restoration and support conservation goals.

Subject Tags

  • Coastal
  • Forest
  • Biodiversity

Abstract

Canopy-forming kelps are essential foundation species, supporting biodiversity and providing ecosystem services valued at more than USD$500 billion annually. The global decline of giant kelp forests due to climate-driven ecological stressors underscores the need for innovative restoration strategies. An emerging restoration technique known as 'green gravel' aims to seed young kelps over large areas without extensive underwater labor and represents a promising restoration tool due to costeffectiveness and scalability. This video article illustrates a protocol and tools for culturing giant kelp, Macrocystis pyrifera. It also provides a resource for further studies to address the successes and limitations of this method in field settings. We outline field and laboratory-based methods for collecting reproductive tissue, sporulating, inoculating, rearing, maintaining, and monitoring substrates seeded with early life stages using the 'green gravel' technique. The protocol simplifies and centralizes current restoration practices in this field to support researchers, managers, and stakeholders in meeting kelp conservation objectives.

Citation

Dawkins, P.D., Paz-Lacavex, A., Fiorenza, E.A., Rush, M.A., Beas-Luna, R., Lorda, J., Malpica-Cruz, L., Sandoval-Gil, J.M., McHugh, T.A., Han, M.K. and Bracken, M.E., 2024. Field Collection and Laboratory Maintenance of Canopy-Forming Giant Kelp to Facilitate Restoration. Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVE), (208), p.e66092. 10.3791/66092 

TNC Authors