Grain size and weight percent of Aragonite and Calcite in Thiara scabra and Haita acuta snail shells
Description
Grain size and weight percent of Aragonite and Calcite in Thiara scabra and Haita acuta snail shells, using X-ray diffraction (XRD; PANalytical Multi-Purpose Empyrean II Diffractometer) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF; spectrometer Axios (PANalytical Co).
Files
Steps to reproduce
Snails were collected from fishponds in Emek HaMa’ayanot, Northern Israel, namely, from the Tirat Zvi farm (N 32.400784, E 35.530227), the Ein HaNaziv farm (N 32.471151, E 35.507449), and a drainage trench near Kibbutz Shlukhot (N 32.476060, E 35.486404), based on mapping from a previous study (Moscovitz et al., 2024). A uniform shell width of 4-6 mm at the snail widest point in the shell was determined by using a set of sieves, one with holes of 6 mm and the second of 4 mm, thus snails which were trapped between them after rigorous washing were used for the experiment, as previously described (Savaya-Alkalay et al., 2018; Savaya et al., 2020). Empty snail shells of the prawns least preferred (Thiara scabra) and most preferred (H. acuta) snails, of the size grade 4-6 mm, were washed with soap and water to remove possible soft tissue remnants and sand and then dried and crushed. Each sample comprised about 50 shells. The weight percentages of the shell components were determined with a PANalytical Axios Wavelength Dispersive X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometer Axios (PANalytical Co), with an elemental range between sodium and uranium and concentration ranges from sub-ppm levels to 100%. Thereafter, crystallite size in the samples was determined using X-ray diffraction (XRD; PANalytical Multi-Purpose Empyrean II Diffractometer). Generally, the larger the crystallite size, the harder the material; thus, crystallite size is a good indicator of material strength. Usually, a single sample is used in XRD and XRF; however, we analysed three samples for the two snail species to ensure statistical robustness.
Institutions
- Ben-Gurion University of the NegevSouthern District, Beersheba