Genomics Rooftop Mixer: Kelp and the Future of Our Oceans
On October 28, the Santa Cruz community will gather on a rooftop overlooking Monterey Bay for something both celebratory and deeply consequential: the Genomics Rooftop Mixer. It’s an evening to highlight groundbreaking research emerging from UC Santa Cruz and beyond. Among the many projects on display, one focus has particular resonance for anyone who has ever paddled a kayak through a kelp forest, gazed at its underwater cathedrals while diving, or simply admired the golden ribbons washed ashore after a storm.
This project, led by Malin Pinsky and his team, centers on kelp—the giant brown algae that are, in many ways, the redwoods of the sea. Just as redwoods define the California coast on land, kelp defines it underwater. Growing as much as two feet in a single day, giant and bull kelp anchor some of the most productive ecosystems on Earth. They provide shelter and food for countless species, from abalone and rockfish to sea otters and seabirds. And they are no less important to people, supporting fisheries, recreation, and California’s coastal economy.
But kelp forests are in trouble. Warming waters, marine heatwaves, and declining nutrients have stressed these ecosystems, leading to massive losses along stretches of California’s shoreline. Where forests once stood thick, underwater deserts now spread.
Pinsky’s team at UC Santa Cruz is tackling this challenge head-on. By sequencing kelp genomes from Alaska to Baja, they are asking a fundamental question: which kelp are most likely to survive the changing oceans of the future? Through what they call “genomic time travel,” they’re even looking at historical samples to determine whether kelp have already evolved greater tolerance to heat after recent marine heatwaves.
The work is ambitious. To date, more than two dozen kelp individuals have been sequenced, building the first comprehensive catalog of kelp genomes. The goal is to pinpoint the genetic signatures that may allow certain kelp populations to withstand warmer, less nutrient-rich waters. These findings will not sit on a shelf—they are already informing the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Kelp Restoration and Management Plan, shaping strategies for conservation and restoration across the state.
For many of the researchers involved, this is more than data. As one put it, their fascination with kelp began decades ago while diving in Monterey, swimming through towering columns swaying in the currents. For anyone who has experienced that same awe, the importance of this research is clear.
The Genomics Rooftop Mixer will be an opportunity not just to hear about this work, but to connect it back to the coast and community it seeks to protect. Because kelp is not just a plant of the sea—it is a foundation of California’s ocean identity.
