Sea butterflies are such important food for so many marine animals they have been dubbed the ''potato chips of the ocean''. But they could be under threat from all that extra carbon dioxide. Dissolved carbon dioxide is slowly turning the water more acidic, making it harder for sea butterflies to build their calcium shells. The loss of these swimming ''potato chips'' would have repercussions right up the food chain. And with a billion people around the world dependent on fish for their protein, fewer fish would clearly be bad news for people too. Of course, there's no need to worry, if the greenhouse gases are brought under control. or is there? Although the burning of fossil fuels is often viewed as the biggest environmental threat, here in the Pacific there are more pressing concerns. The fish may disappear long before the impact of climate change really takes hold. A leading group of ecologists recently predicted that in just 40 years, seafood will be off the menu.


对于许多的海洋动物海蝴蝶是它们非常重要的食物，海蝴蝶被称为“海洋中的炸薯条”。但是由于大气中的二氧化碳增多，它们将受到威胁。海水溶解二氧化碳于是慢慢的海水变得越来越酸，这会影响海蝴蝶形成主要成分为钙的壳。海洋损失了这些会游动的“海洋薯片”进而会影响整个海洋食物链。世界上有近十亿的人依赖渔业以及（吸收）鱼类身上的蛋白质，由海蝴蝶减少而导致的鱼类减少对他们来说也是个坏消息。当然，如果温室效应气体的排放得到控制，也没有必要太担心。但是事实却是如此吗？尽管燃烧矿物燃料通常被视为是对环境最大的威胁，但现在在太平洋则有更紧迫的问题需要面对。鱼类会在气候变化所造成的影响特别显著之前就会灭绝。生物学家领导小组最近预测大概在40年内，餐馆的菜单上就不会有海产品了。