Page 152 - (DK) Ocean - The Definitive Visual Guide

150 SHALLOW SEAS

PACIFIC OCEAN WEST The Sea of Japan/East Sea is seven species, several of them endemic
influenced by the warm Tsushima to the area. Kelps are also diverse, with
Sea of Japan/East Sea Current from the south and the cold species of Undaria, Laminaria, and
Liman Current from the north, so its Agarum thriving in the colder waters
COASTAL TYPE marine flora is a rich mix of temperate in the north. Kelp is highly nutritious,
Mainly rocky and cold-water species because of the and Hokkaido is the traditional center
WATER TYPE wide range of water temperatures in of kelp harvesting.
Warm to cold different parts of the coast. The mixing
PRIMARY VEGETATION of these currents also provides plentiful INVASIVE KELP
Kelp and seagrasses nutrients for plant growth. Seagrass Since 1981, Asian kelp (Undaria pinnatifida)
LOCATION Off the west coast of the island of diversity is moderate, but eelgrasses has spread from its indigenous sites in Japan,
Hokkaido, northern Japan are particularly well represented with China, and Korea to four continents. FEMALE RED PIGFISH IN KELP FOREST
PACIFIC OCEAN SOUTHWEST
Poor Knights Islands

COASTAL TYPE Offshore
islands
WATER TYPE Temperate
PRIMARY VEGETATION
Kelp and other brown
seaweeds
LOCATION Off the east coast of Northland, North
Island, New Zealand

In 1981, a marine reserve was set
up around the Poor Knights Islands,
extending 2,600 ft (800 m) out from
the shore. The area is popular with
divers for its caves and kelp forests.
In the most exposed places, the kelp
Lessonia variegata is predominant, while
at more sheltered sites Ecklonia radiata
is more abundant, together with the
large brown seaweed Carpophyllum
flexuosum. Large numbers of sea
urchins dominate in some places.

PACIFIC OCEAN NORTHEAST stop over at the lagoon during
migration to refuel on the eelgrass.
Izembek Lagoon On the rocky, open coasts outside the
lagoon, kelp forests thrive in the cold
COASTAL TYPE Rocky water. The most common forest-
coast and lagoon forming kelp here is bull kelp
WATER TYPE Cold; low (Nereocystis luetkeana), which can grow
salinity to 130 ft (40 m) in length. Bull kelp
PRIMARY VEGETATION is an annual, which means that it
Eelgrass and kelp reaches maturity within a single year.
LOCATION On the northern side of the Alaskan It grows quickly, at a rate of up to 5 in
Peninsula, Alaska, US (13 cm) per day. The huge fronds,
which have many long, strap-shaped
Izembek Lagoon covers 150 square blades, are supported by gas-filled
miles (388 square km) of the Izembek bladders (pneumatocysts) that are
State Game Refuge and is the site of up to 6 in (15 cm) in diameter.
one of the world’s largest eelgrass beds.
The eelgrass Zostera marina grows in FEEDING GROUNDS
dense beds here, both subtidally and After raising their young farther north,
on intertidal flats, where it is grazed thousands of Brant geese graze on eelgrass in
by wading birds at low tide. Over half Izembek Lagoon in the fall before flying south
INDIAN OCEAN EAST SEAGRASS BANKS a million geese, ducks, and shorebirds to Baja California, Mexico.
Shark Bay has one of the world’s largest
Shark Bay semi-enclosed bay seagrass beds, covering about 1,500 square
miles (4,000 square km).
OCEAN ENVIRONMENTS LOCATION Inlet of the Indian Ocean, north of Perth, which are preyed on by sharks. The
COASTAL TYPE Shallow,
food for one of the world’s largest
WATER TYPE Tropical;
populations of dugongs (see p.419),
high salinity
adjacent Hamelin Pool is too salty for
PRIMARY VEGETATION
Seagrasses
seagrasses, but it is well known for the
growth of stromatolites (see p.232).
Western Australia
Shark Bay is a UNESCO World
Heritage Site, and it contains one of
the largest, most diverse seagrass beds
in the world. Its 12 species of seagrass,
which include Amphibolis antarctica
and Posidonia australis, dominate the
subtidal zone to depths of about 40 ft
(12 m). The vast seagrass beds provide
POSIDONIA AUSTRALIS