Ecology of Kelp Communities

A taxonomic account of the world's kelps is far too complex for the scope of this review, but Mann (146) has characterized the world's kelp forests by their dominant genera. Laminaria species are found in many parts of the world but dominate both sides of the Atlantic and the coasts of China and Japan. Ecklonia dominates some kelp forests in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and a few other southern hemisphere localities. The giant kelp, Macrocystispyrifera, forms dense forests in many parts of the world including areas of the northeast Pacific, the southern shores of South America, many Southern Ocean islands, and isolated areas of South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. Macrocystis pyrifera does not occur in the eastern Pacific area north of San Francisco, California; however, this northern region has the highest species diversity of kelps in the world (63), with Macrocystis integrifolia and Nereocystis, Alaria, Pterygophora, and Laminaria, among other conspicuous genera.