California,US,21 -August 2025
Protected Seas Help Kelp Forests Bounce Back:
A new study reveals that Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are a powerful tool for bolstering the resilience of kelp forests, allowing these vital underwater ecosystems to recover more quickly from climate change-driven marine heatwaves.
As climate change intensifies, the world’s kelp forests, which are as ecologically important as rainforests on land, are facing an unprecedented threat from more frequent and severe marine heatwaves.
A recent study, however, has provided a significant source of hope, demonstrating that a well-enforced network of protected seas can help these vulnerable ecosystems withstand and recover from climate shocks.
Research led by scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and published in the journal Marine Ecology, found that kelp forests located within Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) showed a significantly higher rate of recovery following the extreme marine heatwaves that affected the North American Pacific coast between 2014 and 2016.
The findings are particularly notable because they show that while MPAs provide a modest benefit under normal conditions, their protective role becomes clear in the face of major climate disturbances.
The key to this enhanced resilience lies in the protection of the entire food web, not just the kelp itself. By restricting fishing and other human activities, MPAs allow populations of key predators, such as California sheephead and spiny lobsters, to thrive. These predators, in turn, keep populations of kelp-eating sea urchins in check. When a marine heatwave hits, the kelp is weakened and more vulnerable. In unprotected areas, unchecked sea urchin populations can decimate the weakened kelp, turning lush underwater forests into barren “urchin barrens.”
In MPAs, however, the healthy predator population prevents this from happening, giving the kelp a fighting chance to regenerate.
* A Local Solution to a Global Problem
The study provides strong evidence that local conservation efforts can effectively buffer the impacts of global climate change. It underscores that by addressing local stressors like overfishing, communities can build the resilience of their ecosystems to climate-driven events.
The researchers also found that the benefits of MPAs were particularly strong in Southern California, where the heat stress and ecological pressures on kelp are most severe.
* Expanding the Network
The findings come at a crucial time, as nations worldwide are working toward the “30 by 30” global target of protecting 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030. This research provides a powerful argument for not only expanding the network of MPAs but also ensuring they are properly enforced and strategically placed to maximize their climate resilience benefits.
By protecting marine life from local threats, we are giving our oceans and coasts a better chance to survive a warming world.
