The amazing underwater world of the kelp forest -

'My Octopus Teacher' is a BAFTA-award winning Netflix documentary made by filmmaker and diver Craig Foster, who over the course of a year forged an unlikely friendship with a common octopus in a South African kelp forest. Kelp forests harbor a greater variety and higher diversity of plants and animals than almost any other ocean community. In fact, these extraordinary marine environments are recognized as one of the most productive and dynamic ecosystems on Earth. So, what else besides the octopus calls a kelp forest home?

Click through and take a dive through this amazing underwater habitat.

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Where can you find kelp forests? -

Kelp forests thrive worldwide in cold, nutrient-rich waters of the world's seas and oceans. 

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How are kelp forests formed? -

The forests are formed in shallow water by the dense growth of several different species known as kelps.

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What is kelp? -

Though they look very much like plants, kelps are in fact large brown algae.

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Growth -

Kelps grow in dense groupings much like a forest on land, with some species  reaching heights (underwater) of 45 m (150 ft).

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Food and shelter -

In fact, a kelp forest is tiered just like a rain forest, with a canopy and several layers below. The kelp provides food and shelter for numerous organisms. In all there are 30 different species of kelp.

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How does kelp keep afloat? -

Towards the water's surface, gas bladders called pneumatocysts, another unique feature of kelp, keep the upper portions of the algae afloat.

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Natural landing stage -

Kelp blades on the water's surface serve as a handy platform for wildlife, such as this pair of egrets on the lookout for breakfast. 

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Kelp forests provide protection -

Kelp forests also provide comfortable and buoyant beds for resting sea otters. In fact, a lot of mammals take advantage of kelp forests for protection and feeding, including seals, sea lions, and whales.

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Pacific sea nettle jellyfish -

The underwater habitat is home to thousands of species of invertebrates, fishes, and other algae. Pictured is a large Pacific sea nettle jellyfish drifting along the edge of a kelp forest.

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Ideal hunting habitat -

Kelp forests provide ideal hunting habitats for larger predatory species of sharks and marine mammals, who patrol the long corridors between rows of individual plants for meal opportunities. Pictured is a sevengill shark.

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Leopard shark -

This sleek leopard shark has the same idea as it cruises for a snack.

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California sea lion -

And here's a California sea lion in hot pursuit of lunch.

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Orange vermilion rockfish -

The orange vermilion rockfish is apparently as tasty as it looks. It knows this, of course, and tends to hide from the likes of sea lions under the fronds of giant kelp.

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California sheephead -

A large male California sheephead swims through a beautifully backlit section of  kelp forest.

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Urchins -

Purple sea urchins munch on a piece of kelp. Urchins (a primary herbivore in kelp forests) are possessed of a voracious appetite and can prevent kelp plants from growing large enough to form forests. Fortunately, sea otters find urchins irresistible and play a vital role in stabilizing sea urchin populations and sustaining kelp forest growth.

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Marine algae -

A far smaller species of marine algae is seen here in a kelp forest off South Africa's Cape Peninsula.

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Fish-eating anemone -

A fish-eating anemone attached to the rocky seafloor of a kelp forest. Fish using the kelp as cover often fall prey to this attractive but deadly marine carnivore.

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Nudibranch -

A nudibranch, a marine mollusk, feeding on kelp in the canals of Patagonia, southern Chile.

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Garibaldi fish -

A flame-colored Garibaldi, also known as the Catalina goldfish, breaks cover to feed. The waters surrounding California's Catalina Island harness one of the most productive of Pacific coastline kelp forests.

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Sea dragon -

A beautiful and delicate common sea dragon grabs a spot of lunch in a kelp forest off Tasmania's east coast. Worryingly, climate change and the effects of global warming have vastly reduced Tasmania's once flourishing giant kelp forests.

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Halfmoon blue perch -

A school of halfmoon blue perch swim in a kelp bed off Monterey Bay, California, as a shoal of sardines pass quickly by.

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Southern rockhopper penguin -

A southern rockhopper penguin uses the kelp beds found off the shorelines of the islands north of Antarctica to hide and hunt. These marine birds are among the world's smallest penguins, standing about 50 cm (20 in) tall.

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Greater kelp goose -

A female greater kelp goose and her fluffy offspring nesting in the Falkland Islands. Kelp geese are noted for only eating kelp and will migrate along the coast of South America in order to find their favorite snack.

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Kelp from above -

This is what a kelp forest looks like from above.

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Harvesting and conservation -

Kelp has all sorts of uses and is harvested from kelp forests and used as a binding agent in products like ice cream, cereal, toothpaste, various lotions, and more. Pictured are workers towing fishing boats to a kelp breeding area for kelp conservation in waters off east China's Shandong Province.

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Preserving the kelp forests -

And what about the common octopus? It was filmed in waters off Cape Town, South Africa, and the makers of the feature are part of a campaign to preserve the underwater kelp forest located there.

Sources: (National Ocean Service) (Oceana) (National Marine Sanctuaries) (ThoughtCo) (The Guardian) (BBC)

See also: The most beautiful sounds found in nature

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