South African Kelp Forest. Protected by small rocky promontories south of the harbor of Simon′s Town, South Africa, this kelp forest occurs in a cove located on the shores of False Bay on the eastern side of the Cape Peninsula. Simon′s Town (also referred to as Simonstown) was originally named Simon′s Vlek after Simon van der Stel, the Dutch governor of the Cape Colony between 1677 and 1699, who surveyed the bay east of Cape Town in 1687. This section of coast, characteristic of much of the shore in the vicinity of Cape Town, contains small coves with white sandy beaches and calm shallow waters that are interspersed between boulders of Cape Granite. Kelps common to the Cape Peninsula and the west coast of South Africa include Sea Bamboo (Ecklonia maxima), Split Fan Kelp (Laminaria pallida), and Bladder Kelp (Macrocystis angustifolia). The kelp canopy provides a complex, three-dimensional habitat for thousands of species of fish, invertebrates, and other seaweeds. Because kelp beds, sometimes referred to as forests of the sea, support high primary production levels, they are among the most productive ecosystems on earth. This high productivity forms the base of many coastal food webs in cool water environments worldwide. (Photograph taken in April 2014 by Charles W. Finkl, Coastal Education and Research Foundation [CERF], Fletcher, North Carolina, U.S.A.)