Snapping shrimp pop to send alert and nab food

• By Susan Scott
• April 15, 2017

We oceangoers rarely see the little gunslingers because they live in burrows. But we hear them. The split-second closure of each shrimp’s single, oversize claw makes a popping sound. When the creatures pop by the thousands, as is often the case, it’s like snorkeling in a giant bowl of Rice Krispies. Read more

Tetiaroa a fine spot for Obama to pen book

• By Susan Scott
• April 8, 2017

The news that Barack Obama is writing his memoir in Tetiaroa caused excitement at our house. In 2013 we sailed the Honu 40 miles from Tahiti to Tetiaroa, when the luxury hotel hosting the former president was still under construction. Read more

A precious skeleton is found amid many birds

• By Susan Scott
• April 1, 2017

While visiting Molokai last weekend, friends and I went to Moomomi Preserve, a 912-acre coastal area shaped by tradewinds so gusty they sandpapered our legs. It was worth the prickles. Read more

Primordial soup brews near active volcanoes

• By Susan Scott
• March 25, 2017

Last week on a Hawaii island boat tour, I watched Kilauea Volcano shoot its lava off a cliff. Liquid orange rock spurted like a fire hose from a tube 3 to 6 feet wide, plunging 60-some feet to the ocean in explosions of steam, glass particles and hydrochloric acid. Read more

Shoreline gems offer a palatable mystery

• By Susan Scott
• March 18, 2017

Some of the pebblelike pieces are symmetrical, with a centerline. Others are halves of these, and all bear the markings of former ridges. Read more

White terns are at home in the trees of Honolulu

• By Susan Scott
• March 13, 2017

Last week I walked into Waikiki with 11 other Oahu residents, zigzagging through tourists, street performers and pamphlet-givers. But we weren’t there to people-watch. We were there to see some of our city’s most charming marine animals: white terns. Read more

White terns turn heads in Waikiki

• By Susan Scott
• March 11, 2017

Last week, I walked into Waikiki with 11 other Oahu residents, zig-zagging through tourists, street performers and pamphlet-givers. But we weren’t there to people-watch. We were there to see some of our city’s most charming marine animals: white terns. Read more

Weird Palau find offers a lesson in flora, fauna

• By Susan Scott
• March 4, 2017

Over 2,000 tunicate species are found throughout the world, with Hawaii hosting at least 45. Read more

Yap’s gentle giants of the reef prove a bit timid, too

• By Susan Scott
• Feb. 25, 2017

I loved Yap’s super-friendly people, entwined mangrove forests and pristine reefs. It wasn’t what I expected but that’s the beauty of travel. You get to generate your own impressions. Read more

Colorful reef habitats offer shelter from a storm

• By Susan Scott
• Feb. 18, 2017

Mother Nature doesn’t care if visitors have only one week to enjoy paradise. An unseasonal storm front moved over Palau and stalled there. Read more

Palau thinks big with laws that protect its ocean life

• By Susan Scott
• Feb. 11, 2017

Today, eight OS guests and I begin exploring Palau’s exploded paint stores and swimming with 1,400 paint chips. It’s almost embarrassing to call this work. Read more

Sharp-eyed fish lurks in the sand stalking prey

• By Susan Scott
• Feb. 4, 2017

Last weekend I made a dozen new friends. One is Ross Lang-ston, an assistant professor of zoology at Windward Community College. The others are his popeyed fish called sandburrowers. Read more

Moon snails use stealth in the sand to stalk prey

• By Susan Scott
• Jan. 28, 2017

I love moon snail shells. They’re marble smooth, patterned in rays of soft colors, and their whirls are classic. But just because the creatures’ homes look inviting doesn’t mean the animals that built them are. Moon snails are a nightmare on clam street. Read more

Ugly bottom dweller has its charms, slime and all

• By Susan Scott
• Jan. 21, 2017

Hagfish get no respect. And they should. The eel-shaped, bottom-dwelling creatures, averaging 20 inches long, provide humans with food, clothing, wallets, a crackerjack recycling system and snot. Not many fish are so giving. Read more

Attempt to aid crab heals faith in humanity

• By Susan Scott
• Jan. 14, 2017

One morning last week the news of hate crimes, science denial and war atrocities left me feeling hopeless about the human race. Wanting to block out the whole wretched world, I plugged my ears with headphones, pulled a hat down to my eyes and walked to the beach. Read more

Splendid pictures, research propel book

• By Susan Scott
• Jan. 7, 2017

Over the years, when I had a question about Hawaii’s whales or dolphins, I would email Robin Baird, a researcher at Cascadia Research Collective. Read more

Peace, hope graced city on wings of white, gold

• By Susan Scott
• Dec. 31, 2016

Most of my email this year was for the birds, specifically Pacific golden plovers (kolea) and white terns (manu-o-Ku), the native species that choose to grace our city. Read more

Sea turtles are wonders to witness everywhere

• By Susan Scott
• Dec. 24, 2016

This year I’ve already had the best Christmas present ever: a boost in appreciation of living on Oahu. Read more