Hi I'm Ranger Jacklyn with another Ranger minute from Redwood National and
State Parks. There is a battle going on on our beaches and it's one that most of
us will never even see not because it's too small but because it moves too
slowly. It's the battle for survival of the sand dollar. When we find sand
dollars on the beach there usually bleached white stripped of their fuzzy
purple spines and cillia or small hairs that helped them move and eat. Sometimes
you may find a purple sand dollar on the beach.
Gently flip it over and you may see that this is still very much alive. When the
tide is high
more than 500 sand dollars can occupy a single square yard of sandy ocean bottom. They
tilt their bodies to catch passing food particles and use their cillia to funnel
food to their centrally located mouth. Their main predator is the also slow
moving sea star, but when the tide goes out many of the weaker sand dollars are
left stranded on the shore in the land of fast-moving predators like seagulls.
With their slow movements they try to hide themselves under the sand avoiding
the Sun and predators alike and wait for the safety of the ocean to return. You
are allowed to collect the bleached skeletons of sand dollars on our beaches here at
Redwood National and State Parks. If you find a live sand dollar you can look
at it just be certain to put it back on the stand right side up when you're done.
Remember if it got washed up on beaches it's already in a struggle to survive,
and if you have the time and you're patient you can watch their battle at real speed.