Kelp Forest Photos, Pictures of Macrocystis pyrifera

Giant kelp frond showing pneumatocysts which make the algae bouyant. Macrocystis pyrifera, San Clemente Island, California	A kelp forest with sunbeams passing through kelp fronds. Macrocystis pyrifera, San Clemente Island, California.	A SCUBA diver swims through a giant kelp forest which is tilted back by strong ocean currents. Giant kelp, Macrocystis pyrifera, the fastest growing plant on Earth, reaches from the rocky bottom to the ocean's surface like a submarine forest.
Macrocystis pyrifera kelp forms huge beds along the western coast of North America. Individual kelp plants extend from the rocky reef and sand bottom to the surface, where they grow out and form a canopy.
Ocean sunfish recruiting fish to clean it of parasites, near a patch of drifting kelp in the open ocean, Baja California, Mexico. Mola mola, Macrocystis pyrifera.	Bryozoan grows on a red gorgonian on rocky reef, below kelp forest, underwater. The red gorgonian is a filter-feeding temperate colonial species that lives on the rocky bottom at depths between 50 to 200 feet deep. Lophogorgia chilensis, California.	Giant Kelp, Santa Barbara Island
These kelp beds are home to a rich array of life. Kelp offers protection for prey, a hiding place for predators, and a substrate upon which smaller creatures can grow. The kelp forest is also a magnificent place to dive.
Lophogorgia chilensis, red gorgonian, grows below a towering forest of giant kelp, San Clemente Island, California.	Kelp Fronds And Pneumatocysts, San Clemente Island	Giant Kelp, San Clemente Island
Kelp plants are anchored to the rocky reef with a holdfast. In a dense kelp forest, the rocky reef can hardly be seen beneath the many kelp plants. The holdfast must withstand surge, back and forth water movement caused by large swells passing by.
Giant Kelp, San Clemente Island	Garibaldi Swims In The Kelp Forest, Catalina Island	Red gorgonian on rocky reef, below kelp forest, oriented at right angles to prevailing water currents to capture plankton drifting by.
Small gas bladders -- pneumatocysts -- connect the kelp's stipes (stems) to its blades (leaves). These bladders help elevate the kelp plant from the bottom, towards sunlight and the water's surface. New growth occurs at the elevated end of the plant. When it reaches the surface, the kelp plant continues to grow and will spread out at the surface to form a thick canopy.
California golden gorgonian and small juvenile sheephead fishes on rocky reef. Muricea californica and Semicossyphus pulcher, San Clemente Island, California.	A giant kelp forest, Macrocystis pyrifera, San Clemente Island, California.	Kelp Fronds And Pneumatocysts, San Clemente Island
Sometimes the kelp's holdfast will fail, and the kelp plant will drift off. It will float at the surface and continue to grow until it is beached or reaches water that is too warm. While drifting in the open ocean, it becomes a gathering point for offshore marine life. Baitfish, flying fish and juvenile fish seek protection amidst drift kelp. Ocean sunfish (Mola mola) approach kelp paddies, hoping to encounter other fishes that will clean them of parasites. Yellowtail (Seriola lalandei dorsalis) and other game fish visit drift kelp looking for smaller fishes to eat. Opportunistic blue sharks (Prionace glauca) and ocean sunfish (Mola mola) can often be found hanging around drift kelp. Pacific white-sided dolphins (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens) have been known to play with pieces of drift kelp. Various invertebrates attach to drift kelp, including nudibranchs and barnacles. Even seabirds utilize kelp, such as this diving grebe observed hunting small fish under drift kelp.
Giant Kelp, San Clemente Island	Pacific Jack Mackerel In Kelp Forest, San Clemente Island	California Bat Ray In Kelp Forest, San Clemente Island
Giant Kelp, San Clemente Island	Giant Kelp, San Clemente Island	Red Gorgonian, San Clemente Island
Giant Kelp, San Clemente Island	California Sea Lion In Kelp Forest, Santa Barbara Island	Giant Kelp, San Clemente Island
Salema In Kelp Forest, Catalina Island	Giant Kelp, San Clemente Island	Garibaldi, San Clemente Island
Giant Kelp, San Clemente Island	Giant Kelp, San Clemente Island	Giant Kelp, San Clemente Island
Giant Kelp, San Clemente Island	Giant Kelp, San Clemente Island	Giant kelp frond in motion, time exposure, Macrocystis pyrifera, Santa Barbara Island, California.
Giant Kelp, San Clemente Island	Giant Kelp, Santa Barbara Island	Giant Kelp, San Clemente Island
Giant Kelp, San Clemente Island	Swimming through a giant kelp forest, San Clemente Island.	Diver amidst kelp forest, Macrocystis pyrifera, San Clemente Island, California.
Giant Kelp, San Clemente Island	Garibaldi In Kelp Forest, San Clemente Island	Underwater photographer amid a giant kelp forest, Macrocystis pyrifera, San Clemente Island, California.
Pacific Torpedo Ray In Underwater Kelp Forest, Santa Rosa Island	Giant Kelpfish In Underwater Kelp Forest, San Clemente Island	Two California Golden gorgonians (Muricea californica) in kelp forest (Macrocystis pyrifera), San Clemente Island, California.
Red Gorgonian And Underwater Kelp Forest And Reef, San Clemente Island	Northern Kelp Crab On Kelp Blade, San Nicholas Island	Giant Kelp
Morning sunbeams, a submarine forest, Macrocystis pyrifera, California.	A Kelp Forest, San Clemente Island	Giant Kelp, San Clemente Island
Kelp Fronds And Pneumatocysts, San Clemente Island	Kelp Fronds And Pneumatocysts, San Clemente Island	Halfmoon Perch Swimming Below Floating Kelp, San Diego
Giant Kelp, San Clemente Island	Purple Urchin Consume Kelp Holdfast, Santa Barbara Island	Blue Shark Swims Through Kelp, San Diego
California Golden Gorgonian And Underwater Kelp Forest, San Clemente Island	Blacksmith School In Underwater Kelp Forest, Santa Barbara Island	Giant Kelp, San Clemente Island
Giant Kelp, San Clemente Island	Giant Kelp, Santa Barbara Island	Giant Kelp, San Clemente Island

Kelp Forest Photos, Macrocystis pyrifera Underwater Images

Underwater photographs of the California kelp forest, featuring stock pictures of Macrocystis pyrifera (Giant kelp) and associated marine animals. Over 20 years of underwater photography in California's and Mexico's spectacular kelp habitats.