Geographic variability of floating kelp recovery after a marine heatwave event in the Salish Sea and adjacent open coast.

ABSTRACT: Floating canopy kelps, foundational species that support productive nearshore marine forests, are threatened by increasingly common and severe marine heatwaves (MHW). We tracked annual changes in kelp canopies and sea surface temperature (SST) before, during, and after the 2014-2016 MHW from the open coast of Washington State, USA into the Salish Sea. We found spatial differences in kelp canopy recovery timelines and in warming magnitude and duration. Estuarine-dominated sub-regions experienced slower recovery (up to three years) than ocean-driven areas (one year), even though all sub-regions experienced coincident declines. Mean SST of the warmest month was the most common predictor of annual canopy abundance (4 of 6 sub-regions), and the best predictor in the two exposed coast sub-region

SUBMITTER: Claar DC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12671756 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature