Environment
Kelp: The sustainable superfood coming soon to a plate near you
Kelp’s potential as a commercial crop is finally being recognized — and, as kelp forests vanish worldwide, so is its importance in coastal ecosystems
- 2515 words
- 11 minutes
Environment
Lending a kelping hand: how genetics research is innovating seaweed restoration
Researchers are taking a new approach to kelp conservation by studying how their genes could be key in protecting B.C. kelp forests from climate change
- Apr 07, 2025
- 1,614 words
- 7 minutes
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Kelp: the unexpected tendrils wrapping around beachgoers’ legs that reignite childhood fears of sea monsters and deep ocean-dwellers. For many, kelp is seen as a nuisance, getting in the way of a nice beach vacation or causing shores to smell. However, what kelp-haters don’t realize is that this form of seaweed is, in fact, key to ocean conservation.
A 2023 review of the economic value of kelp found that kelp forests sequester around five million metric tons of carbon each year through photosynthesis, roughly the amount of carbon emissions from 1.1 million cars. Kelp forests provide vital habitats and food for many marine species like crabs and abalone, nurseries for juvenile fish, and even playgrounds for otters. Simultaneously, kelp forests also remove excess nutrients from areas polluted by runoff and support billion-dollar industries such as fish harvesting and ecotourism. So, maybe this “sea monster” isn’t so evil after all.
Over the past half-century, kelp ecosystems have been under threat due to warming oceans, overgrazing by sea urchins, and coastal development. The extent of the impacts of climate change on ocean ecosystems is yet to be known, and one mystery that researchers are still unravelling is the effect climate change has on kelp populations, specifically how kelp genes are changing as the climate does.
What is kelp genomics?
In simple terms, genomics is a branch of molecular biology that explores the structure and evolution of genomes (the genetic information of an organism), often about other biological or physical factors. Kelp genomics explores the population structures, mutations and environmental conditions that drive kelp adaptation. Historically, kelp research was sidelined because it wasn’t an economic priority. But now that kelp ecosystems are declining, impacting economies and shifting biodiversity, the spotlight is on. One application of this new research is to use genetic data to inform kelp restoration, matching genes to environments and rebuilding damaged populations.
Dr. Jordan Bemmels, a postdoc with Dr. Gregory Owens’ Lab at the University of Victoria and the Kelp Rescue Initiative (KRI), is studying how kelp populations across B.C. and beyond are responding to stressors like warming temperatures and dwindling population size. Bemmels, Owens and their collaborators from universities across North America recently published a paper in Current Biology that shows genetically distinct clusters of kelp around B.C.’s coastlines, highlighting the need for targeted regional approaches to conservation.
Kelp decline and resilience to the climate crisis
As individuals in a kelp forest die, fewer are left to reproduce. Therefore, the amount of genetic variation in the population declines. This causes a phenomenon called genetic drift. “There are random changes from one generation to the next, and by random chance, you start to lose some genetic variation,” explains Bemmels. Variation is lost more quickly in smaller kelp populations than in larger populations. With variation loss, there is less genetic diversity to work with to adapt to changes, he continues. This lack of genetic diversity limits kelp’s ability to face climate change. These genetic factors are, as Bemmels shows, much more important to kelp conservation than researchers had previously understood.
Recent data, including a study published in Scientific Reports, suggests that some kelp populations may be more resilient to climate change than others, potentially due to patterns of genetic diversity. Dr. Loren Rieseberg and Dr. Fernando Hernández of the Rieseberg Lab at the University of British Columbia are studying the genetic factors that contribute to this resilience. Bemmels points out that for genomic-led restoration to work, “we would need to know what climate variables matter.” Hernández’s team at UBC has figured that out through models linking patterns of genome variations to corresponding environmental factors, thereby explaining how kelp may adapt to their environment.
Beyond understanding how the environment affects genomic adaptation, Hernández explains that they can predict the survival of future populations through models that estimate a statistic called genomic offset. “We have a genotype adapted to today’s conditions, and for conditions in 50 years, we know the environment, so what is the genotype we need to be adapted to these conditions? We measure the genetic distance between them,” says Hernández. “If genetic distance is very low, the population will likely thrive, but if the distance is large, it means that this genotype will probably not survive.” Hernández points out that this will show researchers which populations should be made a priority.
Future-adapted populations may hold the key to restoration efforts aimed at replanting kelp. The next step is integrating new genetic information with existing kelp restoration to create a well-rounded, long-lasting approach to protecting kelp ecosystems.
How genomics is being integrated into kelp restoration
While the first record of kelp restoration dates back to a Japanese monk in 1718, modern efforts may have found a new secret weapon. A promising method for kelp restoration is out-planting, where juvenile kelp is grown in labs and then transplanted into degraded areas. “In situations where the kelp seed bank is depleted, and no nearby kelp beds remain, reintroducing kelp is necessary for success,” says Dr. Lauren Dykman, the kelp restoration science lead with the KRI.
The technique of out-planting is being refined with the integration of genomic data. Researchers can now identify genomes of populations that are better at growing in certain conditions and use this information to recommend kelp seed sources to boost struggling populations. Restoration efforts are considering a process called assisted gene flow, which moves kelp and their specific genes around on purpose to promote adaptation to new conditions, which could bolster degraded populations.
Introducing “new blood” to diminished populations may seem like an obvious solution, but it comes with caveats and considerations. “When you scramble the different genes that have co-evolved together in different regions and mix them all, the hybrid might not be able to function as well as the parents. That would be called outbreeding depression,” says Bemmels. “There could be risks to the timing of reproduction or the cues that they use,” he continues. “This might create hybrids that try to reproduce at sub-optimal times and produce few offspring as a result.” This is why the Aquatic Plants Office already enforces early guidelines for kelp restoration at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
The 50km rule and kelp transfer guidelines
Regulations set by the DFO for out-planting kelp are conservative due to a lack of previous data. The 50km rule, based on a literature review performed by the Alaskan government with data predating 2016, limits the transfer of kelp between populations more than 50 kilometres apart. However, Hernández points out that researchers will “sometimes find two distant genetic clusters within proximity to each other.” According to genomics, this rule may not be the most effective way to protect kelp populations.
Researchers like Bemmels suggest more flexible approaches, such as using climate-based seed transfer zones already applied in B.C. terrestrial forestry. Bemmels speculates, “We have these big six or seven different regions across Washington and B.C., … In my opinion, those could be the big regions that act as boundaries. But then, at the finer scale, I think we should try to match climates pretty well within those regions.” This means researchers could try to outfit populations with the strongest genotypes for changing ocean conditions within their genetic regions. However, Bemmels emphasizes that the specific details of what kelp transfer guidelines should look like in the future are still up for debate and will require input from a variety of stakeholders.
A collaborative approach to kelp conservation
It isn’t just researchers looking to improve regulation. Tom Campbell, founder of West Coast Kelp, explains that the point of regulation is to promote safe and successful conservation. “There’s an opportunity now where these regulations are not really legislated,” he says. “If there can be a unified voice from all of these different organizations that are working towards the same goal, and if we as the people doing the work can agree on what the regulations and the ground rules should be, that can then be presented to the regulators who can then work very closely within those recommendations.”
There is no one solution for kelp restoration. The combined efforts of researchers, NGOs, Indigenous-led efforts, farmers and regulators have drastically broadened the collective knowledge of kelp ecology and conservation. “I see the importance of interdisciplinary teams,” says Hernández. “It’s key to work with people that really can apply this kind of knowledge.” Open communication between these groups is essential, as Campbell puts it. “If the regulators don’t have good information, then they make bad policy.”
The fate of our oceans rests largely in the hands of policymakers, such as the DFO, UN, and Transport Canada, who decide how oceans get used and regulated. Therefore, it is the scientists, the grass-roots conservation groups, the First Nations, and the communities that observe climate disasters who should hold the most power as informers of regulation.
Kelp regulation is new, but by introducing and supporting initiatives like the Marine Plan Partnership (MaPP) and the Seaweed Industry Development Plan, the B.C. government is willing to engage with First Nations communities and researchers to adapt regulations as our knowledge changes. As community members and ocean stewards, we can hold regulatory bodies accountable to the science, stay literate on ocean news and push for regulation that follows data. “Good regulation should work to achieve a goal,” says Campbell. In this case, the goal is to protect our underwater forests.
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