-2coconut palms and trees.2# The island was denuded by the blast in
Rovember 1952, but by April 1954 had regained a heavy growth of
shrubs, principally Scaevola frutescens and Messerschmidia
argentea. The regrowth was from seedlings and stumps of old plants.
A rookery of fairy and noddy terns had also become established.
Belle Island was again denuded by the Nectar test of May 1954
save for stumps and some stripped branches.
Dead birds and fish
were found in the center of the Island as well as along the shores.
One dead Coenobita was found, but almost all of & population of
about 50 in one pile of debris survived, probably because of the
protection of the debris and their habit of quickly withdrawing
into their shell when disturbed.
It is probable that they with-
drew-at the first flash of light before the blast reached them.
Belle Island regained a lush cover of shrubs by August of
1954, less than three months after the Nectar test, and a fairy
tern egg found three months later,
in late November, marked the
beginning of & new rookery on the island.
Methods
Collections were made at approximately daily intervals commencing with the third day following Nectar until the ninth ddy.
Thereafter, the interval between collections was progressively
lengthened to approximately monthly intervals.
Three crabs were
taken at each collection except that in three instances five, and
in one instance, only two were taken.
Samples of carapace (exoskeleton), muscle, hepatopancreas
("liver"), gut with its content, and gill were removed, either
nov