KELP

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does kelp mean? 

• KELP (noun)
  The noun KELP has 1 sense:

1. large brown seaweeds having fluted leathery fronds

  Familiarity information: KELP used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• KELP (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Large brown seaweeds having fluted leathery fronds

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Hypernyms ("kelp" is a kind of...):

brown algae (algae having the chlorophyll masked by brown and yellow pigments)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "kelp"):

sea tangle; tang (any of various kelps especially of the genus Laminaria)

Holonyms ("kelp" is a member of...):

genus Laminaria; Laminaria (type genus of the family Laminariaceae: perennial brown kelps)

 Context examples 

The research also helps answer another question: why phytoplankton growth declined during the 2013-2016 El Niño, while giant kelp flourished.

(Giant kelp switches diet when key nutrient becomes scarce, National Science Foundation)

To sustain growth rates, kelp requires many nutrients, especially nitrogen, but changes in ocean currents reduce the availability of such nutrients each year beginning in May.

(In search of an undersea kelp forest's missing nitrogen, National Science Foundation)

The sevengill shark usually lives in areas where the sea floor is thick with kelp, as opposed to the relatively clear-bottomed study area.

(Study indicates as great white shark disappears, living fossil moves in, Wikinews)

One of the main forms of nitrogen is nitrate, and although nitrate is scarce in the summer and fall, giant kelp continues to grow year-round.

(Giant kelp switches diet when key nutrient becomes scarce, National Science Foundation)

"This study reveals how environmental change can affect subtle ecosystem dynamics in kelp forests," said David Garrison, a program director in NSF's Division of Ocean Sciences.

(In search of an undersea kelp forest's missing nitrogen, National Science Foundation)

The researchers noted the sevengill sharks might not have the same effect on the ecosystems involved as the great whites have had, citing the ecological disruption apparently caused off Alaska when a change in orca behavior had a knock-on effect, disrupting sea otters' predation of sea urchins, whose population then exploded, plowing through the area's kelp forests.

(Study indicates as great white shark disappears, living fossil moves in, Wikinews)

Nitrate and another form of nitrogen, ammonium, are the only sources kelp had been known to use.

(Giant kelp switches diet when key nutrient becomes scarce, National Science Foundation)

As a result, kelp forests face a potential shortage of nitrogen just as long summer days are poised to fuel algal growth, said lead author Joey Peters.

(In search of an undersea kelp forest's missing nitrogen, National Science Foundation)

It turned out that kelp consistently showed no preference, and used urea at equal rates as ammonium.

(Giant kelp switches diet when key nutrient becomes scarce, National Science Foundation)

So scientists were surprised to learn that giant kelp maintains its impressive growth rates year-round, even in summer and early fall when ocean currents along the California coast stop delivering nutrients.

(In search of an undersea kelp forest's missing nitrogen, National Science Foundation)