barrens

"A classic example of multiple stressors causing a regime shift is the transition from kelp forests to urchin barrens in the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of North America," Meunier said.

Ninety-five percent of Northern California’s kelp forest has been displaced by sea urchin “barrens” since the West Coast’s marine heat wave in 2014, ’15 and ’16, when water temperature averaged 7 degrees above normal.

Bees are routinely trucked into the region to pollinate the blueberry barrens each spring.

Where kelp patches were more exposed and less dense, the sudden rise of sea urchins in 2014 led many kelp forests to become 'barrens' -- areas scoured by hungry sea urchins along the rocky reef.

The end result has been transformation of complex, three-dimensional kelp forests into large-two dimensional expanses of so-called “urchin barrens.”