Multimedia Gallery
Pteropod (Image 2)
Two shell-less pteropods (from the Greek word meaning "wing-foot") of the species Clione limacina mate in a glass dish. This particular species are hermaphrodites--having both male and female organs--and can mate with any other member of their species, a useful trait when looking for a mate in the vast ocean. These specimens were collected with a plankton net during a National Science Foundation-supported research cruise in the Pacific Ocean, led by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) scientist Gareth Lawson.
Drifting with currents in the open ocean, these tiny swimming marine snails are an important source of food for fish, whales and other marine animals. Also called "sea butterflies" because of their wing-like swimming appendages, pteropods build shells made of calcium carbonate, similar to those of garden snails but thinner and more delicate. These fragile shells may be vulnerable to the oceans changing chemistry.
At Woods Hole, Lawson and colleagues are studying pteropods, investigating how these planktonic molluscs are being affected by ocean acidification. The worlds ocean waters have gradually become more acidic. Ocean acidification is a direct consequence of increasing levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the Earths atmosphere, brought on as a result of human-caused CO2 emissions. WHOI researchers are comparing pteropods in ocean regions with normal acidity to those in regions already showing acidification.
In addition to his research, Lawson collaborated with sculptor Cornelia Kavanaugh, whose sculptures of pteropods were shown in the exhibit "The Gorgeous Shapes of Sea Butterflies" at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural Historys Sant Ocean Hall. (Date of Image: Aug.-Sept. 2012) [Image 2 of 4 related images. See Image 3.]
Credit: Image courtesy of Leo Bianco-Bercial; ©Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
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