Local Giant Kelp Forests are Threatened by Warming Waters, Experts Say

The waters off San Diego are home to the two largest kelp forests on the West Coast, and both are being closely watched by local experts who are concerned about the effects of climate change on the underwater groves.

The giant kelp forests off La Jolla and Point Loma are important to the ecosystem, said Ed Parnell, a researcher at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla whose studies focus on coastal ecosystems in Southern California.