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Images
#local weather disaster
#Douglas Klug
#nature
#oceans
#seaweed
#water
![An underwater photo of kelp.](https://www.thisiscolossal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/51480672803_92fb8a21aa_k.jpg)
All pictures © Doug Klug, shared with permission
If you happen to’ve walked alongside an ocean shoreline, chances are high you’ve stumbled upon the crumpled, brownish-green tendrils of kelp washed up at excessive tide. Regardless of appearances, the otherworldly seaweed will not be a plant however relatively a sort of algae. Leaf-like types referred to as blades take in daylight to photosynthesize, and gas-filled bladders maintain the constructions near the floor. Underwater, they develop in elegantly swaying forests, offering nourishment and shelter to marine wildlife. For Douglas Klug, these sleek, undulating ecosystems present infinite inspiration and shocking interactions.
Primarily based in Santa Barbara, California, Klug is an avid scuba diver and photographer who focuses on marine life, highlighting faculties of fish and myriad textures as they work together within the rippling daylight. Many of the kelp forests he explores are inside Channel Islands Nationwide Park close to the place he lives. “All my diving is inside what is taken into account ‘leisure’ limits at depths shallower than 130 toes. The water is chilly, and the ocean has sturdy power referred to as surge, so the circumstances could be difficult to work in,” he tells Colossal.
Klug pays consideration to adjustments within the ecosystem, noting that “kelp forests themselves live, thriving environments that may wax and wane with currents, water temperature, or different elements,” offering clues to the ocean’s well being and the trickle-down impact for animals and people that depend on its meals sources. Not solely is a number of the seaweed edible, it gives protected haven and nurseries for fish, whereas massive concentrations of the algae are highly effective carbon sinks in a position to sequester tens of millions of kilos of carbon dioxide. As a result of results of the local weather disaster and human inference with fragile aquatic ecosystems, the forests are struggling.
Klug shines a lightweight on the marine world with the hope that viewers will acquire understanding and appreciation for essential habitats. “I really like taking pictures the kelp forests as a result of it lets me spotlight certainly one of nature’s most necessary sources,” he says. “Kelp forests are necessary to all of us as they contribute to our world’s well being and stability.” Together with different wildlife like seals, sea lions, and nudibranchs—a gaggle of notably colourful, tiny molluscs—the ocean challenges the artist to search out the best circumstances for lighting and thrilling encounters, and to be in the best place on the proper time.
Discover extra of Klug’s nature images on his web site and Flickr.
#local weather disaster
#Douglas Klug
#nature
#oceans
#seaweed
#water
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