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Kelp forests thrive worldwide in cold, nutrient-rich waters of the world's seas and oceans.
Though they look very much like plants, kelps are in fact large brown algae.
Kelps grow in dense groupings much like a forest on land, with some species reaching heights (underwater) of 45 m (150 ft).
In fact, a kelp forest is tiered just like a rain forest, with a canopy and several layers below. The kelp provides food and shelter for numerous organisms. In all there are 30 different species of kelp.
Kelp blades on the water's surface serve as a handy platform for wildlife, such as this pair of egrets on the lookout for breakfast.
The underwater habitat is home to thousands of species of invertebrates, fishes, and other algae. Pictured is a large Pacific sea nettle jellyfish drifting along the edge of a kelp forest.
Kelp forests provide ideal hunting habitats for larger predatory species of sharks and marine mammals, who patrol the long corridors between rows of individual plants for meal opportunities. Pictured is a sevengill shark.
The orange vermilion rockfish is apparently as tasty as it looks. It knows this, of course, and tends to hide from the likes of sea lions under the fronds of giant kelp.
This sleek leopard shark has the same idea as it cruises for a snack.
A large male California sheephead swims through a beautifully backlit section of kelp forest.
The forests are formed in shallow water by the dense growth of several different species known as kelps.
A far smaller species of marine algae is seen here in a kelp forest off South Africa's Cape Peninsula.
This is what a kelp forest looks like from above.
A fish-eating anemone attached to the rocky seafloor of a kelp forest. Fish using the kelp as cover often fall prey to this attractive but deadly marine carnivore.
Kelp has all sorts of uses and is harvested from kelp forests and used as a binding agent in products like ice cream, cereal, toothpaste, various lotions, and more. Pictured are workers towing fishing boats to a kelp breeding area for kelp conservation in waters off east China's Shandong Province.
Kelp forests also provide comfortable and buoyant beds for resting sea otters. In fact, a lot of mammals take advantage of kelp forests for protection and feeding, including seals, sea lions, and whales.
A nudibranch, a marine mollusk, feeding on kelp in the canals of Patagonia, southern Chile.
And here's a California sea lion in hot pursuit of lunch.
A flame-colored Garibaldi, also known as the Catalina goldfish, breaks cover to feed. The waters surrounding California's Catalina Island harness one of the most productive of Pacific coastline kelp forests.
Towards the water's surface, gas bladders called pneumatocysts, another unique feature of kelp, keep the upper portions of the algae afloat.
A beautiful and delicate common sea dragon grabs a spot of lunch in a kelp forest off Tasmania's east coast. Worryingly, climate change and the effects of global warming have vastly reduced Tasmania's once flourishing giant kelp forests.
And what about the common octopus? It was filmed in waters off Cape Town, South Africa, and the makers of the feature are part of a campaign to preserve the underwater kelp forest located there.
Sources: (National Ocean Service) (Oceana) (National Marine Sanctuaries) (ThoughtCo) (The Guardian) (BBC)
A school of halfmoon blue perch swim in a kelp bed off Monterey Bay, California, as a shoal of sardines pass quickly by.
A southern rockhopper penguin uses the kelp beds found off the shorelines of the islands north of Antarctica to hide and hunt. These marine birds are among the world's smallest penguins, standing about 50 cm (20 in) tall.
A female greater kelp goose and her fluffy offspring nesting in the Falkland Islands. Kelp geese are noted for only eating kelp and will migrate along the coast of South America in order to find their favorite snack.
Purple sea urchins munch on a piece of kelp. Urchins (a primary herbivore in kelp forests) are possessed of a voracious appetite and can prevent kelp plants from growing large enough to form forests. Fortunately, sea otters find urchins irresistible and play a vital role in stabilizing sea urchin populations and sustaining kelp forest growth.
Kelp forests harbor a greater variety and higher diversity of plants and animals than almost any other ocean community. In fact, these extraordinary marine environments are recognized as one of the most productive and dynamic ecosystems on Earth. So, what else besides the octopus calls a kelp forest home?
Click through and take a dive through this amazing underwater habitat.
The amazing underwater world of the kelp forest
A unique marine habitat
TRAVEL Nature
Kelp forests harbor a greater variety and higher diversity of plants and animals than almost any other ocean community. In fact, these extraordinary marine environments are recognized as one of the most productive and dynamic ecosystems on Earth. So, what else besides the octopus calls a kelp forest home?
Click through and take a dive through this amazing underwater habitat.