Month: July 2017

The effects of ocean warming and acidification on seaweed growth and urchin grazing

Forward: This thesis shows that purple urchins increase feeding rates by about 500% when exposed to acidified conditions that are currently occurring in Northern California during spring upwelling season. (see figure 8 below) http://broncoscholar.library.cpp.edu/bitstream/handle/10211.3/194019/BriggsLauren_Thesis2017.pdf?sequence=4 No wonder the kelp is all gone! Of course 150 purples per square meter can do