Alaska to Baja Consortium for Reef Monitoring (ABC Reef)
We combine kelp forest ecosystem monitoring data along the Northeastern Pacific to assess the variability and possible changes in the abundance and distribution of kelp and kelp-associated species on rocky reefs spanning the west coasts of Alaska, USA, to Baja California, Mexico and encompassing the entire range of kelp forest ecosystems along the Pacific coast of North America. Kelp forests support diverse and productive biological communities and provide a variety of consumptive and non-consumptive ecosystem services that are vulnerable to climate variability and anthropogenic stressors. Integration and analysis of five monitoring programs spanning 469 sites, over 390 species, and 20 functional groups revealed variable biogeographic patterns in response to recent climate extremes associated with the 2013-2015 warm anomaly and the 2015-16 extreme ENSO event.
