Fauna
While the flora is the focus of the kelp forests , the fauna also present a fascinating ecosystem to look at. Kelp forests are nearly bursting with marine fauna. They are filled with invertebrates, fish, birds, and even mammals. There are too many to list but here are some of the most important residents of the kelp forests.
- Sea otter
- Sea urchin
- Garibaldi (our marine state fish)
- Sunflower star
- Decorator crab
- Nudibranch
The interactions between the kelp and the marine organisms are what really make the kelp forests what they are. Kelp forests are an extremely fluid ecosystem, resulting from both these interactions between a crucial, ever-growing flora with an incredibly diverse set of fauna, as well as the literal fluid that makes up this environment.
Every single part of a kelp forest is teeming with life. The water column is obviously filled with fish and other fauna swimming or floating between the kelp, but the seafloor is both covered and filled with invertebrates and other benthic organisms. Additionally, the kelp itself is home to countless planktonic organisms, and provides a rich above surface ecosystem full of otters, birds, etc.