BIOACID Science Portrait Silke Lischka

Silke Lischka, marine biologist at GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel is a pteropod expert. These planktonic snails are also called sea butterflies, because they flutter through the ocean with their foot that has developed into two small wings. The organisms are food for fish, sea birds and whales – and they also control part of the food web because they also eat a lot themselves. Ocean acidification affects their delicate calcium carbonate shells.

The German research network BIOACID examines the effects of acidification on the life and biogeochemical cycles in the ocean – and on all those who depend on it. In this series of short videos, BIOACID members report about their research. The BIOACID science portraits complement a photo exhibition on ocean acidification that is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) as part of the Science Year 2016*17 – Seas and Oceans.