Yet another species is in extinction: pteropods, and so what?

When we think about endangered species, the first thing that comes to our minds is the
big mammals, such as the Siberian tiger, the spider monkey or the beluga whale, just to mention
some of them. But the extinction of other species that not many people think about, such as the
tiny gastropod mollusk classified as pteropod, could start a chain reaction throughout the marine
ecosystems that could lead to a collapse of a good chunk of the marine environment.

What is a pteropod anyway and who cares?

Pteropods are little planktonic mollusks, also known as “sea butterflies.” They are mostly
carried along with sea currents, but can also swim with their two wing-like lobes that had been
adapted through millions of years.

I don’t have any picture of a pteropod, but since I knew of their existence, I’m going to
be in the hunt for them with my camera. You can find pictures in the web though.

So, the thing is that pteropods, like corals, phytoplankton, and sea urchins, form an
external calcium carbonate skeleton. As the oceans are getting more acidic, due to our ever
increasing carbon dioxide emissions, pteropods are facing a hard time building their shells, and
according to scientists at the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
their shells are even dissolving. Consequently, pteropods are dying very rapidly.

One of the concerns is that pteropods are an important part of the chain food. They are
eaten by many fishes, which in turn are eaten by bigger organisms, like penguins, seals, and
whales. The extinction of the pteropods would put at risk those bigger creatures.

In the next few decades we are not going to be able to find any more pteropods, they are
going to be extinct, and as a right now, scientists are not giving us any hope.

Just give it some thought, and in the meanwhile, next time you go diving, bring your
camera and take a picture of a pteropod, we might not find it anymore in the next two or three
decades.

Raul Romero

February, 2011