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'KelpWatch' - Kelp Facts - What Are Kelps? |
 | | Members of the Laminariales are typically cold-water species, richly developed in the cold temperate and Arctic waters of the northern hemisphere, less so in the southern hemisphere and absent from the Antarctic. |
 | | Four families are recognised worldwide (Alariaceae, Chordaceae, Laminariaceae and Lessoniaceae), two of which occur on southern Australian coasts (Lessoniaceae and Alariaceae), where they are often conspicuous elements of the mid to upper sublittoral zones. |
 | | Kelp forests occur in cold, nutrient-rich waters and are among the most beautiful and biologically productive habitats in the marine environment. |
| www.geol.utas.edu.au /kelpwatch/facts_w.html (422 words) |