156 
PACIFIC SCIENCE, Vol. XV, January 1961 
TABLE 1 
Percentage of Fat Content and the Ratio of 
Wet Weight to Dry Weight of Livers* of 
the Coconut Crab ( Birgus latro) Collected at 
Rongelap Atoll in March, 1958 
SAMPLE 
NUMBER 
PERCENTAGE OF FAT IN 
LIVER 
WET WEIGHT 
Wet 
Dry 
DRY WEIGHT 
34 
44.70 
78.81 
1.763 
35 
48.24 
74.38 
1.542 
36 
31.50 
55.37 
1.758 
37 
38.01 
67.88 
1.786 
38 
42.34 
67.99 
1.606 
61 
40.38 
71.83 
1.779 
62 
42.76 
73.04 
1.708 
84 
56.10 
83.20 
1.483 
85 
64.62 
87.69 
1.357 
86 
50.76 
71.02 
1.399 
87 
61.49 
88.55 
1.440 
88 
43.89 
70.97 
1.617 
Mean 
47.07 
74.23 
1.603 
Standard 
deviation 
9.71 
9-29 
0.156 
* Sample weights ranged from 9 to 18 g. 
Strontium-90 levels expressed as disintegra- 
tions per minute per gram of nonfat solids and 
of total solids given on a dry weight and a wet 
weight basis are presented in Table 2. 
Table 3 presents the gross beta activity in the 
fat and nonfat fractions of the liver. Although 
fat constituted an average of 47 per cent of the 
wet weight and 74 per cent of the dry weight 
( Table 1 ) of the total solids, gross beta activity 
of the fat fraction amounted to less than 0.5 
per cent of the total sample on a wet weight 
basis, and less than 1.0 per Cent on a dry weight 
basis. 
The gross beta activity of the samples on a 
wet and dry weight basis is given in Table 4. 
There is a linear relationship between stron- 
tium-90 activity and gross beta activity (Tables 
2, 3). The percentage of gross beta activity due 
to strontium-90 at Kabelle, Eniaetok, and Ron- 
gelap islands, on a nonfat solid dry weight basis, 
and based upon the average values at each island, 
is 32, 35, and 31 per cent, respectively. 
TABLE 2 
Strontium-90 in Nonfat Solid and Total Solids in Livers of the Coconut Crab ( Birgus latro) 
SAMPLE 
LOCATION OF 
NONFAT SOLIDS d/m/g 
TOTAL SOLIDS d/m/g 
NUMBER 
COLLECTION 
Wet 
Dry 
Wet 
Dry 
34 
Rongelap Atoll 
260 ± 10* 
458 ± 17* 
55 ± 2* 
97 ± 
4 
35 
353 ± 13 
544 ± 20 
90 ± 3 
140 ± 
5 
36 
Kabelle Island 
27 6 ± 12 
484 ± 20 
130 ± 5 
288 ± 
10 
37 
605 ± 35 
1080 ± 44 
194 ± 8 
347 ± 
14 
38 
420 ± 20 
674 ± 33 
134 ± 6 
216 ± 
11 
Mean 
383 
648 
121 
218 
Standard deviation 
140 
255 
52 
103 
84 
Rongelap Island 
236 ± 10 
350 it 15 
40 ± 2 
59 ± 
3 
85 
245 ± 11 
332 ± 13 
30 ± 1 
41 ± 
2 
86 
159 ± 8 
222 ± 10 
46 ± 2 
64 ± 
3 
87 
409 ± 23 
589 ± 33 
47 ± 3 
67 ± 
4 
88 
224 ± 13 
362 ± 21 
65 ± 4 
105 ± 
6 
Mean 
255 
371 
46 
67 
Standard deviation 
93 
134 
13 
23 
61 
Eniaetok Island 
248 ± 9 
442 ± 17 
70 ± 3 
124 ± 
5 
62 
321 ± 20 
548 ± 34 
87 ± 5 
148 ± 
9 
Mean 
285 
495 
79 
136 
Standard deviation 
52 
75 
12 
17 
* Counting error is less than 7 per cent. 
