Daniel Gossard from Moss Landing Marine Laboratories is our guest.

Aquaculture Techniques Enhance the Potential for Prolonged Success in the Restoration of Bull Kelp, Nereocystis luetkeana

Canopy kelps are historically abundant and bountiful ecosystem foundation species along the northeastern Pacific coast. Why did they disappear? Is there anything we can do to address the issue and facilitate recovery? This seminar is a brief overview of some of the recent and current work on the topic of kelp forest restoration. Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, along with a number of partners, have approached the problem utilizing aquacultural techniques to facilitate kelp restoration. The methodology, challenges, and the potential will be overviewed in the context of MLML’s current bull kelp restoration study at Albion Cove.

Currently a Research Technician in the Phycology Lab at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories at San Jose State University, Daniel Gossard became a graduate student in the lab in 2016, adamant on conducting a SCUBA diving thesis, and ended up studying epiphyte-host population dynamics between Pyropia and Nereocystis. Though he graduated with an M.S. in 2021, his time at Moss Landing was spent contributing substantially to the construction of MLML culturing systems and infrastructure (macroalgal, microalgal, and invertebrate), and he participated in numerous grant-funded studies on projects ranging from bioremediation to seaweed and invertebrate conservation aquaculture. He continues to provide weekly critique on Phycology students’ Master’s research in an effort to encourage rigorous and relevant science. Dan is also currently employed as the Chief Scientist at Monterey Bay Seaweeds, the leading land-based seaweed farm for human consumption in the US.