{"id":2321,"date":"2026-09-01T15:02:33","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T15:02:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/currents.bigelow.org\/?p=2321"},"modified":"2026-09-01T15:02:34","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T15:02:34","slug":"kelp-cascade-effect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/currents.bigelow.org\/?p=2321","title":{"rendered":"Kelp Cascade Effect"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure data-wp-context=\"{&quot;galleryId&quot;:&quot;6a979f03e98c0&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"core\/gallery\" class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure data-wp-context=\"{&quot;imageId&quot;:&quot;6a979f03eef76&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"core\/image\" data-wp-key=\"6a979f03eef76\" class=\"wp-block-image size-large wp-lightbox-container\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" data-wp-class--hide=\"state.isContentHidden\" data-wp-class--show=\"state.isContentVisible\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-on--load=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on--pointerdown=\"actions.preloadImage\" data-wp-on--pointerenter=\"actions.preloadImageWithDelay\" data-wp-on--pointerleave=\"actions.cancelPreload\" data-wp-on-window--resize=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-id=\"2322\" src=\"https:\/\/currents.bigelow.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2026-08-31-1024x683.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2322\" srcset=\"https:\/\/currents.bigelow.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2026-08-31-1024x683.png 1024w, https:\/\/currents.bigelow.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2026-08-31-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/currents.bigelow.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2026-08-31-768x512.png 768w, https:\/\/currents.bigelow.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2026-08-31-500x333.png 500w, https:\/\/currents.bigelow.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2026-08-31.png 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><button\n\t\t\tclass=\"lightbox-trigger\"\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\taria-haspopup=\"dialog\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-bind--aria-label=\"state.thisImage.triggerButtonAriaLabel\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-init=\"callbacks.initTriggerButton\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-on--click=\"actions.showLightbox\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-style--right=\"state.thisImage.buttonRight\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-style--top=\"state.thisImage.buttonTop\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"12\" height=\"12\" fill=\"none\" viewBox=\"0 0 12 12\">\n\t\t\t\t<path fill=\"#fff\" d=\"M2 0a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v2h1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 1 .5-.5h2V0H2Zm2 10.5H2a.5.5 0 0 1-.5-.5V8H0v2a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h2v-1.5ZM8 12v-1.5h2a.5.5 0 0 0 .5-.5V8H12v2a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H8Zm2-12a2 2 0 0 1 2 2v2h-1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 0-.5-.5H8V0h2Z\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lead author Shane Farrell examines a sample of algae collected on the Maine coast under a microscope. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As Maine\u2019s <strong>kelp forests <\/strong>decline, the impacts ripple through the ecosystem all the way down to the <strong>microbial level<\/strong>, according to a new study led by researchers from <strong>Bigelow Laboratory<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The study, <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1073\/pnas.2525548123\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1073\/pnas.2525548123\">published in PNAS,<\/a> reveals fundamental differences between the <strong>microbial communities<\/strong> on the <strong>reef<\/strong> in a <strong>kelp forest <\/strong>versus a <strong>turf algae-dominated system<\/strong>, including the chemical compounds they use and produce. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These invisible changes could have important implications for how these ecosystems function and respond to a <strong>warming ocean. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-3e41869c wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-text-align-center has-medium-font-size has-custom-font-size wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bigelow.org\/news\/articles\/2026-08-31.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read the Full Story<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As Maine\u2019s kelp forests decline, the impacts ripple through the ecosystem all the way down to the microbial level, according to a new study led by researchers from Bigelow Laboratory. The study, published in PNAS, reveals fundamental differences between the microbial communities on the reef in a kelp forest versus a turf algae-dominated system, including [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2322,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","css_class_manager_body_classes":"","css_class_manager_use_in_post_loop":false},"categories":[11],"tags":[51,27],"class_list":["post-2321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-science-ocean-function","tag-doug-rasher","tag-gulf-of-maine"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/currents.bigelow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2321","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/currents.bigelow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/currents.bigelow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/currents.bigelow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/currents.bigelow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2321"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/currents.bigelow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2321\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2323,"href":"https:\/\/currents.bigelow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2321\/revisions\/2323"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/currents.bigelow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2322"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/currents.bigelow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/currents.bigelow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2321"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/currents.bigelow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}