86
from consideration of the geometry of the eye was supported in
the larger Rongelap sample by statistical evidence,
the smaller Kabelle sample.
but not in
This suggests that the Kabelle
sample was not large enough to distinguish statistically the
variation due to the effects of geometry.
The negative correlation between fish size and muscle
zinc concentration may be related to the lactic acid dehydrogenase enzyme in muscle tissue.
Smaller,
juvenile fish,
having to flee more frequently from the attacks of predators,
and which face greater competition for food, may have to use
more of their available muscular energy than is the case with
larger adult fish.
The reversible transformation of pyruvic
acid to lactic acid in muscle tissue requires the zinc enzyme
lactic acid dehydrogenase.
It would seem probable that the
requirement of this enzyme,
and consequently for zinc, would
be higher in the muscle tissue of small, young,
active fish
than for adults.
6.22
Convict surgeon fish from Rongelap Island.
became immediately apparent,
It
upon inspection of the surgeon
fish data in Table 7 that there was no measurable radioactivity
from zinc-65 in this sample.
the presence of stable
(total)
This fact,
in conjunction with
zinc at levels generally within