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Humble hermit crabs are Kwaj evening entertainment

By: Vanessa Wamsley December 30, 2019December 30, 2019

Atoll Life, Blogcrabby beach, featured, hermit crab, kwaj hermit crab, kwajalein atoll, Marshall Islands, perlatus, rugosus

Every Kwaj evening, a surprisingly comical show begins at sunset, when the beach suddenly begins to move.

Day 514: Pint-sized octopus steals the morning

By: Vanessa Wamsley December 28, 2019December 29, 2019

Atoll Life, Blogbaby octopus, featured, kwajalein, kwajalein atoll, octopus, octopus video, reef walk

She had spotted a half-inch long baby octopus, thin-skinned, translucent as the papery layer between orange sections. He seemed to be investigating the edges of the tiny pool, sliding out of the water to – we speculated – look for a bigger pool with a place to hide before reversing direction and flowing back into the drink.

Day 511: Marshallese weaving and Christmas trees

By: Vanessa Wamsley December 25, 2019December 25, 2019

Atoll Life, Blogfeatured, jeti-ed, Marshall Islands, Marshallese culture, University of the South Pacific

Among the treasures on our Christmas tree this year are hand woven flowers, stars, angels, turtles and tuna fish, deceptively simple with all their Christmas charm. Their basic silhouettes reflect a deep Marshallese weaving tradition that is still celebrated and passed to a new generation of women.

Day 500: Kwaj hermit crabs and the fly angle

By: Vanessa Wamsley December 14, 2019December 28, 2019

Atoll Life, Blogcrab experiment, featured, flies, hermit crab, hermit crabs, kwajalein atoll, Kwajalein flies, Marine Science Institute, Pacific Science, small island big life, UCSB

A 1983 Pacific Science article detailing a hermit crab project on Enewetak Atoll has direct connections to the pesky evening fly problem on Kwaj.