Science Forums 2

[Michaelangelica]

'Wee beasties' on holiday ?

By Catherine E. Toth
Advertiser Urban Honolulu Writer
WAIKIKI — The postcard-perfect beaches of Hawai'i attract millions of people every year.

And it's no surprise: The state has some of the cleanest waters — and sand — around.

But that doesn't mean these beaches aren't teeming with microscopic critters.

While there haven't been a lot of studies done on Hawai'i's sandy habitats, researchers who do look at the inner life of beaches say it's a fascinating world of nature at its smallest and finest.

"Like in any animal kingdom, you have predators and you have prey," said Watson Okubo, Monitoring & Analysis Section chief of the state Health Department's Clean Water Branch. "They're all feeding on each other. It's a mad world."

Many of these microscopic organisms are less than a millimeter long and sometimes as small as one-twentieth of a millimeter. A bucket of sand may contain thousands of these tiny creatures.

Sand between your toes? Eek, it's alive! - The Honolulu Advertiser