Quantitative studies of the meiofauna of marine littoral sediments have been attempted only recently. Much of the work has been done in sheltered areas such as the Danish waddens (Muus, 1967), and in estuaries (Barnett, 1968; Capstick, 1959; Rees, 1940; Riemann, 1966), or in tideless areas such as the Baltic (Fenchel & Jansson, 1966; Fenchel, Jansson & von Thun, 1967; Jansson, 1968). Beaches exposed to tides and wave action have received less attention. Renaud-Debyser (1963) studied quantitative temporal variations in the meiofauna of beaches at the Bassin d'Arcachon, France, and Island of Bimini, Bahamas. Renaud-Debyser & Salvat (1963) have compared quantitatively the meio- and macrofauna of four beaches in the English Channel and six on the Atlantic coast of France. Schmidt (1968, 1969) has analysed quantitatively the distribution and population dynamics of the meiofauna of a number of beaches on the Island of Sylt off the German North Sea coast. Recently Mclntyre (1969) has reviewed the ecology of the meiobenthos. Subsequent to Mclntyre's review, in the U.S.A. quantitative investigations of the Gastrotricha (Hummon, unpublished) and Tardigrada (Pollock, 1970) of Massachusetts beaches have been made. Tropical beach meiofauna has been studied in India (Mclntyre, 1968), on the east coast of Malaya (Renaud-Mornant & Serene, 1967) and in Tuamotu, Polynesia (Salvat & Renaud-Mornant, 1969).