Kelping the Bay: Restoring underwater forests one kelpling at a time

These underwater forests are critical to the survival of many marine species, some of which are only found in Southeast Australia.

Australia is home to only three native species of kelp, the most abundant and widespread being the Golden Kelp Ecklonia radiata. This species can be found along the Great Southern Reef which stretches 8,000 km from Queensland's southern border to mid-way up Western Australia.

Golden Kelp beds provide habitat for a myriad of species and provide a range of ecosystem services.

'Hungry sea urchins have been recorded over-grazing Golden Kelp, stripping the Bay of this vital organism,' said Dr Jacqui Pocklington.

'Sea urchin populations have exploded over the past 15 years due to what we believe are a combination of the effects of climate change and changed nutrients from wastewater.'

The result is that the Golden Kelp forests are struggling to survive on their own and require human intervention.

'Successful restoration of natural areas should always seek the most minimal human intervention,' said Dr Pocklington. 'We will compare known successful planting levels with reduced levels, and track progress.

If we find that kelp beds can recover with minimal planting, this could mean future restoration efforts could be more affordable and able to be scaled up to other areas.'

The research team, led by Dr Pocklington, includes Deakin University's Centre for Marine Science Dr Prue Francis and Ms Jasmine Bursic; Dr Cayne Layton from Blue Conservation Services, and Dr Paul Carnell from STEM College at RMIT University.

Kelplings will be grown at the Deakin Queenscliff Marine Centre in State-of-the-Art aquarium facilities until they are ready to be planted onto the reef.

‘To help the kelp recover, the fieldwork involves a mix of moving on the sea urchins and then introducing the kelplings to the Bay,' said Dr Pocklington.

'The hope is we not only restore the area, but also learn more about what interventions can be applied to other temperate reefs throughout the world.'