Crabs were fed on dog biscuits, various fruits and sweet corn and supplied with deionised water

for drinking. Metabolism cages were constructed from 15l plastic buckets with lids, the bottoms being replaced with stainless-steel mesh, to provide a platform for the crab and to trap faeces. A plastic bag was taped over the bottom of the bucket to contain fluid ( ! falling through the mesh. Mineral oil in the bottom of the bag prevented evaporation from collected fluid until it was removed through a small hole in the plastic b" means of a s"ringe and catheter tubing. #rinking water was supplied in a plastic beaker firml" secured within a second larger plastic container which contained an" spillage. Crabs were placed individuall" in the buckets and supplied with 5$ or 1$$ml of drinking water and two small cat biscuits (appro%imatel" $.5 g dr"mass& 'a ((5, ) 1*1, Ca +55, Mg 5,, Cl 111 mol g-1 dr"mass!. -he" invariabl" ate all of the food supplied. .ach da", the water was renewed, new food was supplied and the faeces were removed. ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

The immense Coconut Crab (or Robber Crab) is the largest terrestrial arthropod on earth, (Grub 1971). They have been ound to attain !eights in e"cess o #$g (%letcher & 'mos 199() and can span over #)cm rom cla! to cla!, (Reyne 19*9). They are very po!er ul creatures and have vastly strong pincers. These +chelae, can easily cut through an ordinary broom handle, (-ohnson 19.#).

These hides are mainly used during the day or during moulting. Then at night, the crabs become more active and begin to orage. 's an important conservation note, /irgus are not normally ound in areas cleared or agriculture or livestoc$, (%letcher & 'mos 199().'s an important conservation note, /irgus are not normally ound in areas cleared or agriculture or livestoc$, (%letcher & 'mos 199(). The Coconut Crab is also a scavenger and !ill eat a variety o dead animal matter. They use their $een sense o smell to detect ood sources rom a distance, (-ohnson 19.#). 0"amples o carrion include !ashed up ishes (Gibson12ill 19(7) and dead rats (Reyne 19*9). They !ill also eat dead crabs, even o their o!n $ind, (Gibson12ill 19(7).

Crabs that lived in the roc$y inland areas tended to ta$e shelter in the deep crevices and potholes. The crabs that lived in sandier areas tended to dig themselves large shallo! burro!s. These !ere measured at around 3) to ()cm deep and up to 1.#m long. 'le"ander noticed a mar$ed increase in burro!ing during 4ay. This !as a month !hen ood is plenti ul and so perhaps the crabs !ere gorging themselves prior to ecdysis. 5hen the crabs emerged rom their burro!s, they !ere ound to have enlarged abdomens indicating ecdysis had indeed occurred. 4'6 T278 C9C9:;T CR'/ 49;<T7:G, 8747<'R <7=08 >R'5: T2'T 8940T7408 7: ' C<74'T0 TR':87T79: T206 ?9 ' 49;<T7:G 8T'G08

/reeding appeared to occur in accordance !ith the lunar rhythm. ?uring the months o -anuary to 'pril, there !ere three egg1laying events. 'le"ander concluded that these events corresponded to the ne! moon high tides, but 7 !ould beg to di er. <oo$ing at the data it is clear that the main breeding event in %ebruary !as si" days a ter the ne! moon. This is relevant my o!n hypotheses laid out in the @ 4y %ield!or$A section. 4;874 >0:G2;-': 8''T ;:T;= /0RT0<;R Copulation in Birgus latro ta$es place e"clusively on the land. 8e"ual maturity is thought to commence at around # years o age !hen the individual is around 3#mm in thoracic length (%letcher 19BBb). The emales never mate shortly a ter moulting (2el man 1977b), probably because their shell is still so t and vulnerable to damage. 8chiller et al. (1991) identi ied the summer period as the season o spa!ning. 2o!ever 7 suspect the spa!ning season is very speci ic to an island,s individual climate. The ertilisation itsel ta$es place deep in the Cungle and it is only the emales that migrate to the sea, (Gibson12ill 19(7). 0ggs are released into the sea a ter dar$ at around 3# to (# days o gestation, (8hiller et al. 1991). The release date generally coincides !ith the high tides o that location, ('le"ander 197.).
Birgus latro mengalami kematangan seksual pada umur 5 tahun, atau sekitar 25 mm ukuran dadanya. Fase bertelur dialami pada bulan Januari s.d. April dengan keadaan perairan pasang tinggi. Setelah melakukan pembiakan di hutan dan mengalami kehamilan 25-45 hari, Betina Birgus latro setelah akan melahirkan (melepas telur yang menempel perutnya) ke laut dengan 2kali hempasan !mbak yang mengarah ke tubuhnya.

9nce released into the !ater, the Coconut CrabDs eggs hatch immediately. The larvae that hatch develop through our phases called the +Eoeal <arval 8tages,, (2arms 19*3). 7n total, the transition ta$es around 3 to * !ee$s, (%letcher & 'mos 199(). The larvae are $no!n to reside in the sur ace layers o the ocean, (<avery & %ielder 199#). The position !ithin the !ater column is maintained by both geotactic and phototactic responses, (%letcher & 'mos 199(). The inal larval stage eventually undergoes metamorphosis into a phase denoted as the +'mphibious Glaucothoe 8tageA, (2arms 19*3). The glaucothoe inds a gastropod shell and then attempts to climb to shore.
Setelah telur dilepaskan di air sekitar 2 s.d. minggu mengalami perkembangan lar"a, dan sebagai plankt!n di permukaan perairan laut. Setelah itu Birgus latro akan mengalami #ase $lau%!th!e amphibinya dengan mengambil %angkang kerang untuk perlindungan menu&u kedaratan (daerah intertidal' pasang surut).

The glaucothoe orm inhabits a shell or the irst nine months o li e (2arms 19*3) and then undergoes metamorphosis into a Cuvenile Coconut Crab. /y the time the metamorphosis has inished, they emerge !ith a cephalothoracic length o around #mm (%letcher & 'mos 1991). 't this stage in their development, the crabs spend most o their time buried underground, only sur acing rom time to time, to orage brie ly (2eld 19.*).

Fase $lau%!th!e amphibi Birgus latro dialami sekitar ( bulan. Fase selan&utnya adalah &u"enile Birgus latro, dengan ukuran %ephal!th!ra% 5 mm, dalam #ase ini mereka sering didalam lubang, kedalaman ) 4* %m dan dengan pan&ang lubang ) +5* %m. ,ubang yang mereka tempati seringkali didapat dari lubang dari kepiting &enis lain yang mereka bunuh dan dimangsa ' lubang pada p!h!n ' sela bebatuan.

9nce they reach their adult orm, Coconut Crabs become very slo! gro!ing indeed. 'n increase in siFe occurs !ith each moult. 4oulting decreases in reGuency !ith age. 8imilarly, the percentage post1moulting siFe increase, decreases !ith age. 8mall crabs o less than 3)mm in thoracic length moult around 3 to * time per year, (%letcher & 'mos 1991). Those greater than 3#mm moult around once per year, (%letcher & 'mos 1991). Hery large crabs may moult less than once a year, (%letcher & 'mos 1991). These large crabs may only increase up to *I per moult, so it ta$es up to 1) years or them to reach the legal catchable siFe in Hanuatu, (%letcher & 'mos 1991). 4ales probably ta$e around () years to reach the ma"imum siFe o around ($g and emales can gro! even slo!er, (2el man 197*).
Fase de-asa didapati dengan %ara m!ulting. .ada ukuran th!rasi% Birgus latro / 2* mm, m!ulting dialami 2 s.d. kali pertahun. .ada saat ukuran th!rasi% 25 mm m!ulting dilakukan sekali dalam setahun. 0!ulting dapat meningkatkan besar tubuh Birgus latro ) 1. .ada Birgus latro &antan membutuhkan 4* tahun untuk men%apai berat tubuh 4 kg, dan untuk betina lebih lambat pertumbuhannya dikarenakan digunakan untuk berepr!duksi (terutama #ase mengeram)

'le"ander (197.) observed ive Coconut Crabs in a coconut tree drin$ing rom the rain!ater that had collected in the lea a"ils. 2arms (19*3) $ept a number o Birgus captive and observed their drin$ing behaviour. 2e noted that they drun$ every * to ( days and the events lasted # to 1) minuets. This behaviour !as most prevalent shortly be ore dar$. 2arms (19*3) also noted that as the air became dryer, the reGuency o drin$ing increased.
Birgus latro minum air setiap s.d. 4 hari sekali dengan -aktu 5 s.d. +* menit. Apabila musim kemarau' %ua%a panas #rkuensi minum air hu&an'ta-ar'air laut dilakukan lebih sering lagi.

The primary islands o investigation !ere those o the Hanuatu 'rchipelago. 8amples !ere ta$en rom our islands !ithin HanuatuJ 0spirito 8anto, 2ui, Tegua and <oh. The rest o the samples came rom the 8olomon 7slands, Christmas 7sland, the Coo$ 7slands and :iue. Three hundred specimens !ere collected and eleven tissues types !ere e"amined. The allele reGuencies !ere calculated or crabs rom each island and these !ere then compared to the location data using statistical analysis. 's a result the Coconut Crab, Birgus latro eatures on the 7nternational ;nion or Conservation and :atural Resources (7;C:) Red <ist o Threatened 8pecies since 199., (5ebsite *), (0ldredge 199.). The 7;C: has also outlined all the countries the Coconut Crab is $no!n to inhabitK 1. 'merican 8amoa

3. 'ustralia *. /ritish 7ndian 9cean Territory (. Christmas 7sland #. Coo$ 7slands .. %iCi 7. %rench >olynesia B. Guam 9. 7ndia 1). 7ndonesia 11. -apan 13. =iribati 1*. 4alaysia 1(. 4arshall 7slands 1#. 4auritius 1.. 4icronesia, %ederated 8tates o 17. :auru 1B. :e! Caledonia 19. :iue 3). :orthern 4ariana 7slands 31. >alau 33. >apua :e! Guinea 3*. >hilippines 3(. 8amoa 3#. 8eychelles 3.. 8olomon 7slands 37. Tai!an, >rovince o China 3B. TanFania, ;nited Republic o 39. Thailand *). To$elau *1. Tonga *3. Tuvalu **. Hanuatu