Seaweeds are a critical component of marine ecosystems off the coast of British Columbia, providing both food and habitat for a huge diversity of vertebrate and invertebrate animals. Yet despite their ecological importance we do not have a comprehensive description of the health of seaweed communities in the Greater Vancouver area, and factors such as pollution, vessel traffic, and climate warming may be putting them at risk. This project aims to document the ecological diversity of local seaweed communities using a combination of ecological surveys and environmental DNA sampling, establishing a baseline for comparison that can be used to understand how these communities may be impacted by human activity in the future.
