Loggerhead turtles dolphins or even a whale And below the surface hundreds of species live in the nooks and crannies of the rocky sea floor Things like sponges and sea squirts and things called moss animals and corals And all of these organisms encrust the bottom Danny gleason directs the institute for coastal plain science at Georgia southern university He says this invertebrate community supports other marine life by providing food creating habitat and filtering water But oceans have absorbed about a third of the carbon pollution that humans have added to the atmosphere The extra CO2 makes the water more acidic which harms animals such as oysters shrimps and corals Yet gleason says much about the effects of acidification remains unknown His team is researching how a variety of bottom dwelling critters respond to more acidic conditions What's the effect on the entire community of the invertebrates that are out there He says it's critical to understand how ocean acidification will affect the vast and interconnected web of life beneath the waves Climate connections is produced by the Yale center for environmental communication To hear more stories like this visit climate connections dot org What is dedication My daughter started making necklaces She makes what we call affirmation fashion I tell her every day that your black is beautiful You're black is beautiful And if there's anything better than being beautiful it's being smart If there's anything better than being smart it's being kind And for reaffirming that every day is our method of making sure her chin never drops My dad wasn't around And I remember riding a bike and falling off and cutting myself and me never just wanted to get back on it People ask are your children learn how to ride a bike And you didn't I didn't teach you I.