The Role of Kelp in the Ecosystem

FOOD CHAIN: kelp → sea urchins → otters → killer whales (orcas)

 \n

In this ecosystem, kelp is the primary producer.

Kelp intakes carbon in the water, and in turn released oxygen.

%%In an ecosystem with full homeostasis, there would be a similar amount of kelp, sea urchins, otters, and orcas%%. However, this is not always the case. Lets say that sea otters have virtually disappeared from the ecosystem. Because of the otter’s disappearance, sea urchins will begin to increase in population, while the kelp population would decline, since all the kelp is being eaten by the sea urchins. \n

Carbon emissions play a big factor into this as well. Carbon, produced by burning of fossil fuels, natural disasters such as forest fires, and decomposing organisms, affect the Earth’s atmosphere, which affects the ocean’s acid levels.

In an ecosystem where there is more acidity in the water, there is a lower pH level. Low pH levels and high acidity levels pose as a serious threat to many animals, including sea urchins. When in water with too much acidity, the sea urchin’s shell will begin to deteriorate due to the acid.

Thanks to kelp, in an ecosystem with homeostasis, the carbon is consumed, and oxygen is released. However, in our ecosystem, because all of the sea urchins eat the kelp, there is no base factor (a base factor is an object that acts like a “calming agent” of some sorts. In this scenario, kelp is a calming agent for acidity.)

So, as seen in Chart #1, as atmospheric CO2 rises, so does water acidity. And, since the higher the water acidity means the lower the pH, as CO2 levels rise in the atmosphere, the water’s pH level decreases.