Kelp forests are important coastal habitats that provide food and shelter for many small marine animals. Along the Western Australian coastline, warming oceans and marine heatwaves are changing these ecosystems, including the species of seaweed that form the foundation of the reef.

My research explores how two different foundation species, the temperate kelp Ecklonia radiata and Sargassum, support small epifaunal animals living on and around them. I am interested in how these epifaunal communities differ between kelp species and how this may shift across a latitudinal gradient in Western Australia.

This project looks at patterns in epifaunal community composition, richness, and abundance, with the aim to better understand what may happen to kelp forest ecosystems as marine heatwaves and warming oceans drive shifts in foundation species along the Western Australian coast.