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Warming Accelerates Ecological State Shift Along Maine Coast
https://www.bigelow.org/news/articles/2026-05-19.htmlMay 19, 2026
The loss of dense kelp forests along the Maine coast — and the northward proliferation of small, carpet-like turf algae in its place — is accelerating as the ocean warms, according to new research by scientists at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences.
Published recently in Ecology, the research shows that warming is facilitating the arrival of new species into the Gulf of Maine, and that the transition from kelp forests to turf reefs has progressed rapidly in recent years. The study, which covers some of the hottest years on record in the region, highlights both the direct and indirect impacts of environmental change on temperate reef ecosystems and the vital services they provide.
…
Multiple researchers in the Rasher Lab undertook repeated monitoring from 2021-2023 of 11 sites along the coast, analyzing the composition of the algae community at each site, measuring its characteristics, and assessing how it has changed over time.
Their findings suggest the shift from a kelp forest ecosystem to one dominated by turf algae has progressed northward in recent years, all the way to Penobscot Bay, with increases in the coverage of turf algae up to 40 percent per year in some areas.
…
Farrell, S. P. et al. From kelp forests to turf reefs: Patterns, drivers, and impacts to functional diversity. Ecology 107, e70408 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.70408The loss of dense kelp forests along the Maine coast — and the northward proliferation of small, carpet-like turf algae in its place — is accelerating as the ocean warms, according to new research by scientists at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences.
Published recently in Ecology, the research shows that warming is facilitating the arrival of new species into the Gulf of Maine, and that the transition from kelp forests to turf reefs has progressed rapidly in recent years. The study, which covers some of the hottest years on record in the region, highlights both the direct and indirect impacts of environmental change on temperate reef ecosystems and the vital services they provide.
…
Multiple researchers in the Rasher Lab undertook repeated monitoring from 2021-2023 of 11 sites along the coast, analyzing the composition of the algae community at each site, measuring its characteristics, and assessing how it has changed over time.
Their findings suggest the shift from a kelp forest ecosystem to one dominated by turf algae has progressed northward in recent years, all the way to Penobscot Bay, with increases in the coverage of turf algae up to 40 percent per year in some areas.
…