Kelp
and Seafloor Hardness
Sarah, Margo and Danielle
Science 8-W
Links
Our class visited Howland’s Landing on Catalina Island and studied many aspects of the island and its environment. We had a chance to study the ocean’s ecosystem and run tests measuring turbidity, depth, salinity, nitrates, temperature, and more. We also got to snorkel in the ocean to observe the marine life, specifically the kelp forest. Some students even got the opportunity to map the outline of the forest while kayaking. It was an adventure filled trip from which we collected data that we can now analyze.Our lab group chose to answer the question: What is the relationship between where kelp grows and the hardness of the rocks in that area? We can do this by using a program to create a map that includes North and South kelp tracks as well as the hardness of the sea floor.
A large portion of the data that we have collected in order to analyze this question came from the kayaks. The groups kayaked around the kelp forest and used their GPS’s to map the area. On My World, we can convert the outline into a shaded area on the map. The other data measuring rock hardness was not collected on the trip. When both of these layers are on, we can see where kelp grows in relation to the rock hardness of those areas.
We discovered that kelp usually grows in the areas where the sea floor is harder. This is probably because the kelp needs to connect its holdfast to a firm rock. In the areas with harder rocks, there will be more kelp because there are more rocks for the kelp to hold onto. For example, in places where the rocks are soft and scarce, kelp is not likely to grow because it needs hard and plentiful amounts of rocks.
There were not many difficulties or problems with researching our question. Most of the data was easy to access and accurate. If I had a chance to return, I would take a closer look while we were snorkeling and observe the kelp and sea floor more. I would do this so that we would not only have the data but also our own observations. Overall, I did not encounter many problems.
The results would most likely change significantly if there were a change in weather or it was an El Nino year. Regardless of sea floor hardness, kelp does not grow as well during an El Nino year. Therefore, there would be less kelp overall which would affect the results because we would not be able to see where kelp grows if there is not much there. Weather changes would have significant effects on the outcome of our research.
