At first glance, the life of a South Pacific ghost crab seems entirely idyllic. Gorgeous white-sand beaches, perpetually warm weather, and crystalline turquoise waters as far as the eye can see.

But if you dig a little deeper into the sand, you realize an inconvenient truth: those exact components that make the environment so appealing to them are the very same ones that attract humans. And wherever our species goes, we tend to bring a few uninvited housewarming gifts—sand trampling, inorganic pollution, and geologic engineering projects like seawalls. Not to mention the vehicular traffic on the unfortunate beaches that many still stubbornly regard as existing for human recreation above all else.

Nevertheless, this tiny crustacean marches on. It persists, utterly determined to defend its shrinking slice of paradise against the bipedal tide. As well it should. I, for one, am rooting for the crab.