Mrs Taylor Simpkins1, Dr. Karen Filbee-Dexter1,2, Dr. Albert Pessarrodona1, Dr. Mirjam Van Der Mheen1, Prof. Thomas Wernberg1,3
1The University Of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia, 2Institute of Marine Research in Norway, Bergen, Norway, 3The UWA Oceans Institute, Crawley, Australia
Kelp forests have been estimated to store and sequester approximately 30% of all blue carbon in Australia, yet are largely overlooked in the development of nature based solutions to mitigate climate change. Understanding the production, transformation, and fate of kelp detritus is key to producing an accurate assessment of total carbon sequestration associated with kelp forests. Here we investigate the transformation of kelp derived particulate organic carbon (POC) in a novel in situ decomposition experiment of Ecklonia radiata and Scytothalia dorycarpa on the Rottnest Continental Shelf (RCS), Western Australia. Over 50 days, we examine the changes in biomass loss, total carbon, total nitrogen, and C:N ratios of E. radiata and S. dorycarpa along a depth gradient (10, 20, and 50m) across the continental shelf. Given that the approximate transport time of POC from coastal reefs to the Perth Canyon is estimated to take between 11-16 days, our findings suggest that approximately one quarter to half the POC biomass carried offshore in dense shelf water cascades has the potential to reach deep ocean sinks and be sequestered.
Biography:
I completed my BSc in Marine Biology at the University of San Diego in the US, and MSc in Marine Biology at the University of Western Australia. I am currently a PhD candidate with the Wernberg Lab at the UWA studying kelp blue carbon, and specifically the flux and fate of kelp detritus along the Australian southwest coast. Ultimately, my research endeavours to improve the estimate of kelp carbon sequestration to develop kelp conservation and restoration as a nature based solution to climate change.
