Balance of power in a changing world: shifting urchin-kelp dynamics in a boreal marine ecosystem

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Coastal ecosystems provide both resources and ecosystem services, but although highly productive, they are exceedingly fragile. Along temperate rocky coasts, large brown seaweeds play a key role in providing food and habitat ("kelp beds") to a diverse array of organisms, including sea urchins, the main herbivore in this system. In northern latitudes, urchins can destructively graze kelp, creating "barren zones" of low productivity and diversity unless controlled by predators or disease. In the boreal waters of the northern St. Lawrence ecosystem (nSLe), such controls no longer exist - urchins dominate and kelp beds are consequently rare. Fortunately, when well fed, urchins can be marketed, and their exploitation offers a potential means to reduce grazing pressure to a point that kelp beds can expand, offering the dual benefits of a healthier ecosystem and better