Sampling from my vacation photos, I wanted to focus on kelp. I was surprised by the float, as it was much harder than I expected. I thought it would be more squishy. The floats, or pneumatocysts, keep the blades closer to the surface for photosynthesis purposes, and are usually filled with a combination of oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide. Kelp is a type of algae, which depends on the moving water to supply nutrients. While it has all the markers of being a plant, it's actually a protist - a eukaryotic organism that isn't plant, animal, or fungus. Kelp forests are unique ecosystems - along the California coast, giant kelp makes up the canopy layer. Here you can find crabs, snails, and juvenile fish. These species feed on the fronds but are also a source of food for predatory fish and seabirds. Kelp forests also play a role in creating the perfect environment for phytoplankton, which serves as the base of the aquatic food web. Spring winds blow