--- title: Climate Change Affects Snail Shells description: Study says snail shells are the latest victims of climate change. canonical: https://time.com/86144/study-the-latest-victims-of-climate-change-are-snail-shells/ author: Bijan Stephen article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-05-03T15:00:43.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:09:22.476Z og:title: Study: The Latest Victims of Climate Change Are Snail Shells og:description: Study says snail shells are the latest victims of climate change. og:url: https://time.com/86144/study-the-latest-victims-of-climate-change-are-snail-shells/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt39f285b5727271f1/69868db8cd6848f543094770/170956331.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1500 og:image:height: 844 og:image:alt: 170956331 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Study: The Latest Victims of Climate Change Are Snail Shells twitter:description: Study says snail shells are the latest victims of climate change. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt39f285b5727271f1/69868db8cd6848f543094770/170956331.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Study: The Latest Victims of Climate Change Are Snail Shells > Sponsored content. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. by [Bijan Stephen](https://time.com/author/bijan-stephen/) ## Bijan Stephen May 3, 2014 3:00 PM UTC  Limacina helicina sea snail Limacina helicina sea snail Alexander Semenov—Getty Images by [Bijan Stephen](https://time.com/author/bijan-stephen/) ## Bijan Stephen May 3, 2014 3:00 PM UTC Climate change has claimed its latest victim: _Limacina helicina_, a planktonic, predatory sea snail that’s a member of the taxonomic group more commonly known as sea butterflies. (The name is derived from the wing-like lobes the tiny creatures use to get around.) In a study recently published in journal [Proceedings of the Royal Society B](http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/281/1785/20140123.abstract), a group of scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Oregon State University have found that the Pacific Ocean’s decreasing pH—its acidifying, in other words—is dissolving _L. helicina_’s thin shells. The researchers collected sea butterfly samples from 13 sites along the Pacific coast (between Washington and southern California), going over each with a scanning electron microscope. More than half of the shells (53%) from onshore individuals showed signs of “severe dissolution damage,” while 24% of offshore individuals suffered dissolution damage. The study’s principal investigator, Dr. Nina Bednaršek of NOAA, described the affected _L. helicina_ shells as having a texture not unlike “cauliflower” or “sandpaper.” According to [the paper](http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/281/1785/20140123.abstract), there was a “strong positive correlation” between the proportion of sea butterflies with severe shell dissolution damage and “the percentage of undersaturated water” near the ocean’s surface. The researchers conclude “shell dissolution owing to \[human-caused ocean acidification\] has doubled in near shore habitats since pre-industrial conditions across this region and is on track to triple by 2050,” a truly grim prognostication. Moreover, the broader implications for ecosystem are unclear, as damaged shells make it harder for _L. helicina_ to fight infections, stay buoyant, and protect themselves from predators. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/86144/study-the-latest-victims-of-climate-change-are-snail-shells/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/86144/study-the-latest-victims-of-climate-change-are-snail-shells/"},"headline":"Study: The Latest Victims of Climate Change Are Snail Shells","datePublished":"2014-05-03T15:00:43.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:09:22.476Z","description":"Sea snail sea snail, by the sea shore","url":"https://time.com/86144/study-the-latest-victims-of-climate-change-are-snail-shells/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Science topic"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt39f285b5727271f1/69868db8cd6848f543094770/170956331.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Bijan Stephen","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/bijan-stephen/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt39f285b5727271f1/69868db8cd6848f543094770/170956331.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"170956331","caption":"170956331","creditText":"Alexander Semenov—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/86144/study-the-latest-victims-of-climate-change-are-snail-shells/","name":"Study: The Latest Victims of Climate Change Are Snail Shells"}}]}] ```