If you've been reading this blog for a while, you might recall that I showed a very broad-bladed Bull Kelp a couple of years ago — see "Seaweed puzzler" from 12 April 2015. That blade was ~16 cm across. I compared that to the description in the Marine Algae of California, which stated that the blades could reach up to 15 cm across.
Well, when I saw this specimen, I wondered if it was even broader. Sure enough, I measured it with the ruler along the edge of my notebook and estimated it was ~22 cm wide.
At the time I couldn't remember how wide the 2015 specimen had been. When I reviewed it, I started to wonder if I had measured incorrectly in the field. Could this specimen really be 6 cm wider than the previous one?
I'm glad I took a picture with my notebook next to the blade. To get a second opinion using the photo, I asked Eric to calculate the width of the blade based on the width of my notebook. He came up with 22.65 cm!
So is this a record-wide Bull Kelp blade? Has anyone found a Bull Kelp specimen with blades wider than 22 cm?
Keep your eyes open!
2 comments:
That's fascinating -- lots of epiphytes too. I wonder if those were all growing in-situ or if they recruited to the Nereo once it was already adrift. I can only imagine that it was in a very protected cove to take on that growth form.
Hi, Matt! Nice to hear from you! Yeah, I wondered if it had been growing in either a very calm place, or a very dark place. I've also wondered if the blades would grow like that if it had been drifting offshore for a while, but then a few people I've talked with weren't certain if Bull Kelp grows after it's detached. If anyone knows the answer, I'd be interested.
:) Jackie
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